Not for Kids
by ReticentWriter
Summary: Booth wishes he were somewhere else on Christmas Eve and gets himself in trouble. Rating for the very brief paragraph in the beginning. Booth's POV wanting out of BC and in to BB. Extended One Shot to include Christmas Day. Almost pure B&B fluff now.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If I owned Bones, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about Booth and Brennan getting together. It'd be happening on TV and many people would be very happy. But sadly, I don't.**

**A/N: Its just a little something I thought of while reading everybody else's Christmas fics. First one...don't groan! It might be good, you don't know. Give it a shot. If its bad, groan at the end.**

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His thrusts are mechanical and his kisses are cold and passionless. She seems to be enjoying herself, while he imagines he's somewhere else with someone else. She rakes her nails down his back and he wonders how long this is going to last. Finally, she shakes and shudders, and he silently thanks God that it's over, and he can get away from her. 

He flops over on his back and she immediately snuggles into his chest, murmuring something about "best ever" and he wonders how two people can have such different accounts of the same event. He slips his hand behind his head, leaving his unoccupied arm motionless by his side, not daring to touch her.

_Go to sleep_, he shouts at her in his mind. _Please leave me alone. Please don't talk to me._

Unfortunately, she can't read his thoughts, as she rambles on and on about this case and that case. She talks about how brilliant she was when she deduced that the man currently residing on her table was a murder victim not a suicide. He numbly nods his head, though he knows she's not as smart as she thinks. He knows someone smarter. His thoughts make him smile, a broad grin that makes most women weak. She mistakes it for something else and leans up to kiss him.

The grin quickly disappears when her lips touch his, and he can feel his stomach turn into knots as she tries to slip her tongue in his mouth. The ringing of his cell phone interrupts them, and he thanks God for the second time that night.

"Don't answer it, we're busy," she tries to convince him, as she kisses a path down his chest.

"It could be important. It could be Parker," he tells her in a stern voice, grasping her wrists and practically throwing her to the other side of the bed. He quickly grabs the phone off the nightstand and flips it open without glancing at the caller ID.

"Booth."

"You were right, it's not the missing little boy," Temperance Brennan's voice floats over the line, and he can't help but smile. The nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach subsides as he comes up with an appropriate retort.

"Hello Booth, how are you? Well, I'm just fine, Bones. Thank you so much for asking. Your social skills are getting better and better with each passing day. Now, what pray tell is the reason you're calling me at 10:30 at night on Christmas Eve? See what I just did there? It's called a 'conversation', you should try it sometime," he teases her.

"I just told you why I'm calling. I wanted you to know you were right!" She fights back, her tone just as light and mocking as his.

"Ah, well, thank you for that," he responds, reaching for his boxers from the floor. He carefully cradles the phone between his shoulder and his ear so he can slip the garment on. "Are you at the lab still?" He asks though he already knows the answer.

He stands to leave from the bed, and his companion places her hand on his shoulder to stall him. He waves off her hand and retreats from the bedroom. He'd rather talk to Bones all night long than have sex with HER one more time.

He hears Bones sigh on the line before responding. "Yes, I am. I just wanted to get this done. His parents deserve to know."

He plops himself down on the red faux leather couch in his companion's living room, and sighs. "Thank you, Bones, but you should really go home. It's Christmas Eve!"

"Well, I wouldn't be doing anything but work anyway." He imagines her wincing at her confession of loneliness, and gives a sad smile.

"Well, what are you doing tomorrow?" He absently scratches his head as he tries to figure out a way to ask her this without making her uncomfortable.

"Working…"

"On Christmas?"

"Booth, you know that I --"

He immediately cuts her off. "Don't believe in Pagan rituals and that Jesus wasn't even born on December 25th, blah blah blah…I know all this. But that doesn't mean you can't eat a really great home cooked meal, does it?"

"Well, I suppose not…"

"So, come over and eat with Parker and me. I make a prime rib that makes most people drool, and we have pie and eggnog and just in general, eat until we literally drop. So, you should come and help us."

He prays that she says yes. Though he'd seen her just yesterday, he misses her already.

"Oh, Booth, I don't know. I mean, you get so little time with Parker as it is…I don't want to interrupt family time."

"Bones, you are family, okay? You're my partner, you're my friend, you're my…" His voice trails off as he tries to come up with something platonic, but his mind keeps screaming 'one true love' and 'heart' and corny things that most men wouldn't even cop to thinking about.

"Your?" Bones' voice drifts over the line, wrenching him back from his thoughts.

"My favorite forensic anthropologist, and quite possibly Parker's too, but we'll have to ask him because he's so popular and important, he may have actually _met_ other forensic anthropologists."

"He's five, Booth."

"It was a joke, Bones." He smiles at her ignorance. "Dinner's at five thirty."

"Booth…" she half-whines, uncertainty filling her tone.

"Bones…" he mocks her, his mouth forming his infamous charm smile.

"Your charm smile doesn't work over the phone, Booth." He can't help but chuckle. She knows him too well.

"You could come over at four and distract Parker while I work on dinner. You could tell him about the dinosaurs you found on that dig in the Gobi! He loves dinosaurs."

"I don't do dinosaurs, Booth." She gives a frustrated sigh.

"Well, then talk to him about phylogeny and hexavalent chromium. If Dr. Bones is talking about it, Parker's excited about it. He adores you, and he would be so excited to see you. It would make his Christmas complete. Please?"

He can practically hear the gears turning in her head, trying to figure a way out of it. Finally, she lets out a huff. "Okay, I'll come."

His fist shoots in the air in triumph. "Great! We'll see you at four!"

"Yeah, okay." She replies.

"Thanks for calling me, Bones. I really appreciate it. You should go home now, get some rest. Parker can be very exhausting."

"Must get that from his father," she teases.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Go home, Bones. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Booth." He hears the smile in her voice.

"Good night Temperance." He grins from ear to ear as he flips his cell phone shut. He lets out a sigh of relief as he slumps back against the couch, holding his cell phone to his heart.

"Well, it just wouldn't be Christmas Eve sex, if Dr. Brennan didn't call right in the middle of it," Cam's voice comes from behind him.

Booth shoots up off the couch and turns to face her. "Sorry, she was just calling to update me on the body found yesterday."

"Long update," she snaps.

"Well, she was still at the lab, and I was trying to get her to go home, it being Christmas Eve and all."

"And that necessitated you inviting her to your house for Christmas Dinner?" Cam folds her arms across her chest in defiance.

"You were eavesdropping?" He mimics her action, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"Don't change the subject, Seeley. You invited her over to your house on Christmas to eat dinner with you and your son, and you won't even introduce me to him! I'm your girlfriend, not HER." She's right, of course. It should be her at his table tomorrow with him and his son. He just couldn't do it.

"I don't like to introduce Parker to my girlfriends unless I know that it's going somewhere. I can't just bring women into his life left and right. It's not fair to him." He responds calmly.

"Well, it's not fair to me either. It's not fair that I have to play second fiddle to everyone else."

"Not everyone else, just Parker. He's my son. You have to understand that, we've talked about this. He comes first, no matter what. I won't tell you that again." He feels the anger boiling within.

"And Dr. Brennan," she says, matter-of-factly, planting her hands on her hips.

"She's my partner. Her dad and brother have abandoned her. She has no where else to go!" He drops his arms to his sides, his hands clenching into fists.

"Always rushing in to defend her! Always trying to save her. You don't have to!"

"Yes I do! I'm her partner. It's my job to protect her even if it's from herself!"

"And what about me?"

"I told you, Cam. I told you I was on her side."

"I didn't realize the 'I'm with Bones all the way' included choosing her over me in our PERSONAL LIVES."

Booth lets out a sigh of frustration. Cam's right. He isn't being fair to her. In the beginning, it was just a sexual release because he couldn't have who he wanted. Now, it's just because he couldn't figure out how to end it without letting on that he was head over heels for his partner, but no one deserved this.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

Cam's face contorts to an expression of shock. "What do you mean you're sorry?"

"You're right. This isn't fair. You should be first and you're not, and you don't deserve that. I'm sorry."

He watches her eyes fill with unshed tears. "What are you saying?" She trembles.

He takes a careful step around the sofa, toward his quivering companion. "You deserve to be someone's first priority and you're not mine. You, you never will be." He takes another step toward her, placing a hand on her arm. "Parker is the most important person in my life, and Bones…" He runs his other hand through his hair. "She runs a close second," he admits.

He watches as she takes a step back and takes in a deep breath. "I kinda knew that," she finally says. "I just thought things would change after we were together for a while. I thought you would see I was better." She gives a snort of faux amusement. "I should have known better." She swipes at her eyes and he feels a pang of guilt. He shouldn't have let it go this far.

"I'm sorry, Cam. I really am."

She shakes her head, raising her eyes to his. "You should go."

He opens his mouth to protest, but she pushes on. "That wasn't a suggestion, Seeley. I want you to go." He nods his head in assent and walks into her bedroom to gather his stuff.

Five minutes later, he gives her one last look, one last apology, and walks out her front door. He pauses a moment when he hears a loud gasp, and sighs as he listens to the woman inside hysterically sob.

For a moment, he wishes he could cry too. If anyone understands her, it's him. He understands unrequited love. He understands that heartache. As his thoughts turn back to Bones, he shuffles down the sidewalk.

_This love thing is not for kids, _he thinks as he walks to his car. _Definitely not._

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**Did you groan? I thought I might write another chapter...maybe? Christmas Day? Could be fun. **

**So, I really wanted Cam to be this "female dog" about the whole thing, but I couldn't write it. Maybe another story, another time. If you'll take some time to review, I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll try not to take it personally!**


	2. Best Christmas Ever

**A/N: You guys are unbelievable! I was completely flabbergasted by the number of reviews I got! Thank you all so much. I tried to reply to them all before I posted this chapter but if you reviewed and didn't get a reply, its coming! I promise! Anywho, here you go! Merry Christmas!**

**A/N 2: Also, just to make sure you guys know, any grammatical or spelling errors in Parker's dialogue is on purpose. Anywhere else is simply a careless error and I apologize profusely!**

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It's barely noon on Christmas Day when Seeley Booth starts to panic. He runs through several scenarios in his head of how the day could go. Bones telling Parker there is no Santa or worse, there is no God. Bones taking one look at the Christmas decorations and bolting from his apartment, reverting back into the shell he's been chipping and hammering away at for a year and a half. Bones turning him down when he finally gets up the guts to tell her he's completely in love with her or kicking his butt if he tries to kiss her. 

He's still debating on whether or not he should say anything at all, when the door bell rings to signal Parker's arrival.

As he makes his way down the hallway, he watches as the front door swings open, slamming into the wall behind it, and a tiny blonde comes running toward him.

"DADDY!" Parker throws himself at his father just as Booth stoops down to pick him up, causing both of them to fall to the floor. This doesn't seem to bother his son, Booth notices, as Parker starts to ramble about all the presents Santa brought him.

Booth stands, pulling his son with him, and balancing him on his hip. "Well, Santa left some presents for you here as well, but if you don't want 'em, I can just send 'em on back!" He teases and his son wiggles out of his grasp and lands on the ground, scampering off to the Christmas tree. "Hey, hey, kiss your mom!"

Parker dashes back to Rebecca, who never made it through the doorway, and places a quick kiss on her cheek before hurrying to return to the presents under the tree. Booth approaches his former girlfriend with a smile.

"Thank you," he simply says, taking Parker's bag from her hand. "I'll have him back by five tomorrow, I promise."

Rebecca wishes him a 'Merry Christmas" with a smile, before giving him a wave and retreating to her car. Booth watches from the doorway, half out of chivalry and half out of thought. At one time, he thought he loved her. He thought he couldn't live without her. Now, he knows what that actually feels like. To love someone so unconditionally that he would give up his life for her without a second of hesitation. And Rebecca was not that someone.

"Daddy!" His son yells from inside the house.

"Coming, bub! Keep your pants on!" Booth shouts back, shutting the front door, praying that the day will go better that he thinks it will.

He approaches Parker with a look of adoration only a parent could have. "Buddy, you didn't even take off your coat," he laughs as he sits down next to his son and begins pulling at his sleeves.

"Daddy, can we have egg knock?" Parker asks while trying to unwrap a present and take off his coat at the same time.

Booth chuckles at his son's mistake. "Egg nog, buddy, _nog_. And you bet we can." Finally releasing his son from the prison that is his jacket, Parker gets his present unwrapped.

"A box?" Parker starts tapping the outside of the brown cubic parcel, and Booth holds back a laugh.

"Why don't you try opening it?" Parker's eyes light up when he realizes his gift isn't just the box. Tipping the box over, he pulls at the tape, ripping it open and peering inside.

"Daddy, this is the blanket from your bed!" Parker says in a voice that tells Booth his son thinks he's joking.

"Yes, I know son, but its a very special blanket," Booth tells him as Parker pulls the navy blue quilt from the box. "Your Great Great Grandma Booth made it for your Great Grandpa Booth when he was kid. He gave it to your Gramps when he was a kid, and then your Gramps gave it to me when I was a little boy. Then it was mine for a really long time, and now, I want you to have it. That way, whenever you have it, you'll know that you're family is always with you, even if we can't be there in person. Do you understand?"

Booth watches his son carefully unfold the blanket across his lap and nod.

"But won't you miss it?" Booth smiles at his son's compassion.

"I might, but you'll share it with me once in a while, won't you?" Parker gives his father a triumphant smile and quickly nods his head. "Do you like it?" Booth asks absently as he reaches over to stroke his old blanket.

"Uh huh!" Parker gathers the material around his shoulders, wrapping himself in the blanket before leaning over to give his daddy a kiss. "Thank you, daddy." Booth notices Parker bite his lip as if he wants to say something else.

"What is it, bub?" Booth places his arm around his son's shoulder.

"Can I open a toy now?" Booth chuckles.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something real fast. Could we do that and then open another present?"

"Okay, Daddy," Parker drops the blanket to the floor and moves himself into his father's lap,as if sensing this was a serious conversation.

"Do you remember Daddy's friend, Dr. Brennan?"

"Dr. Bones! Yeah! She said my animal habitatat was the best she ever saw!" Parker exclaims.

"She did? Well, she would know because she's seen a lot of animal habitats." Booth takes a deep breath. "Well, Dr. Bones is going to come over and eat dinner with us today, if that's alright with you."

"She is?!" Parker quickly turns his face to his father's.

"Well, she doesn't really have anywhere to go –"

"Where's her mommy and daddy?" Parker asks, confused. Booth flinches. Not exactly a conversation he wanted to get into today, Christmas Day of all days.

Booth takes another deep breath before answering his son. "Well, her mommy is in Heaven with the angels and her daddy –" he pauses unsure of how to explain it to his five year old – "her daddy can't be here, so she's going to come and hang out with us!"

"Okay!" Parker says, clearly very excited.

"Now, Dr. Brennan doesn't hang out with kids a whole lot, so she may forget and start using really big words. When she does that, you just tell her you don't understand, and she'll explain it to you. Alright?"

"Ok! Daddy, is Dr. Bones your girlfriend?" Booth cringes at the word as he recalls the previous evening. Guilt washes over him as he remembers how upset Cam was. "Daaaaaaddy…"

"Sorry buddy, I was just thinking," he explains, returning his attention to the boy in his lap. "No, Dr. Bones is not my girlfriend, but she is pretty special to me, and she hasn't had a really great Christmas in a long time. So, I thought if she came over here and hung out with you, she would be as happy as I am! Cause spending Christmas with you is the coolest!" Parker gives his dad a big smile, slowly losing his concentration, his eyes glazing over as he stares at the presents under the tree. "So, you're okay with Dr. Bones coming over and spending time with you and me?"

"Uh huh. It'll be the best Christmas ever!"

"Okay, now, I need one more thing from you." Booth smiles down at his son, the boy's exuberance becoming infectious.

"What Daddy?" Parker's eyes never waver from the presents under the tree.

"I'm gonna need a bite of your arm just to tide me over til dinner," Booth says dipping his son backwards and pretending to nibble on his arm. A squeal emits from Parker's mouth, followed by giggles. Flipping his son upright, Booth stands him up and pats him on the butt. "Okay, go get another present, and make it toy this time, huh?"

Parker laughs and runs to retrieve another gift from underneath the tree, as Booth watches with a smile on his face. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all. It could be the best Christmas ever.

_Maybe._

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**I know! Not the chapter you were expecting. Its not even the chapter I was expecting, but I thought it would be nice to have a Booth/Parker chapter, especially since its from Booth's POV. Next chapter will involve Bones, I promise! Here I thought I was posting a one shot...silly me. **

**And the "egg knock" is a gift from my three year old niece, who loves her some "egg knock". Review if you'd like. I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll only cry for a little bit...on Christmas Eve, of all days. But its fine...:)**


	3. Maybe Today

**AN: I'm still completely overwhelmed by all your reviews! Thanks so much. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. This isn't even close to the last chapter...I have a feeling this Christmas story may go beyond Christmas...hope thats okay! Enjoy!**

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The door bell rings precisely at four pm and Booth's heart jumps into his throat. _This is it,_ he thinks to himself. _This is the day._ His stomach twists into knots and his mouth suddenly feels like a desert. _What the hell is wrong with me? I'm not a teenager. I'm an adult. I can do this, _he tells himself as he walks to the front door. Taking one last deep breath, he swings the door open. 

"Bones, what the hell?" He asks, staring at his partner, laden with at least three bags on each arm, and her purse strap through her teeth. She gives him a glare as she struggles with her parcels. "Oh, right!" He blushes slightly, taking all the bags from her right arm and pulling her purse from her mouth.

"Well, it's Christmas, right?" She says, letting out a sigh. "I know well enough not to show up for dinner with a five year old without presents."

Booth has to smile. "Bones, you didn't have to do that." She quickly looks down at her feet and he realizes he's made her feel self conscious and she's only been there for five seconds. He quickly regroups. "But we appreciate it. Parker's gonna love you forever." Her blue eyes meet his and he suddenly feels faint.

"Standard etiquette suggests that you should invite your dinner guest into the home when she's freezing to death on your door step." She teases him.

He gives her an embarrassed smile and steps away from the entryway to allow her to pass. She brushes by him and grins, patting him on the arm as she goes.

"We'll just put these under the tree. Are all these for Parker?" He gestures at the bags in her hands and his.

"Well, not all of them. There's one in there for you," she kids. He rolls his eyes and swipes the bags from her hand.

"Go ahead and hang up your jacket and come on in to the living room. Parker's been waiting for you all day."

"He has? I can't believe he even remembers me." She says, beginning to unbutton her coat.

"Bones, he's met you more than once. He knows who you are, okay? So, take off your coat and come join us." He turns his back on her as he heads down the hallway.

"Parker! Dr. Brennan is here!" He shouts down the hallway to his son, playing with all of his new toys in his bedroom.

_You can do this, you can do this, _he repeats in his head as he pulls perfectly wrapped presents from the bags Bones brought.

"Nice tree, Booth," Bones' voice comes from behind him.

"Why, thank you Bones, nice of you to notice," he says, standing up and turning to face his partner. He couldn't help the massive grin that splits his face.

Her face immediately turns bright red. "I thought I would try to be a little festive, for Parker, of course. Red and green are the customary Christmas colors, right?" She asks, suddenly unsure of her red turtleneck sweater and green scarf. He nods approvingly. Her eyes meet his and he swears the Earth moves.

"Way to get into the Christmas spirit, Bones!" She rolls her eyes at him as he knew she would, and opens her mouth, he's sure to lecture him on how commercial and false the Christmas season is, but she's interrupted.

"Dr. Bones! Dr. Bones! Dr. Bones!" Parker shouts, running into the room and hugging Bones around the legs. She looks at Booth a little startled, before patting the boy on the head.

"Hello Parker. Merry Christmas," she says, and Booth thinks he can see her flinch as she says the words.

"Merry Christmas, Dr. Bones," he repeats politely, and then tugs on her arm so she'll come down to his level. "This is gonna be the best Christmas ever," he whispers to her. "I promise." Booth smiles at his progeny relating so well to the woman he loves.

Brennan smiles at Parker, glancing up at Booth, and he shrugs.

"Dr. Bones, would you like to see what Santa brought me?" _This is it_, Booth thought. _She's gonna say something about Santa and it's all over._

"Sure Parker! That sounds like fun. And you know what? I brought you some presents too, so after we're done, maybe we could open them." Booth watches his son's eyes light up and wrap his little arms around his partner's neck, and he knows he made the right decision inviting her. He sees the uncertainty in her face as she wraps her arms around his son's body, but is so proud of her for trying that he can't wipe the smirk off his face, even when she glares at him.

"Come on, Doctor Bones, let's go! My toys are in my room." His son is nothing but a blur as he races out of the room and down the hallway to his bedroom. Booth chuckles at the look of shock on his partner's face.

"He really likes his new toys," he explains and she gives him her 'ah' look and smiles.

"Thank–"

She cuts him off in a hushed tone. "Just because I don't condone your lying to your son about a mythological man who delivers presents to all the children in the world in one day, I would never undermine your parenting. You want Parker to believe, and if that's what you want, I respect that. I can play along for one day. I'm not so socially impaired I would spill the beads to your son, Booth."

He's so absolutely touched by her words, he can't even bring himself to correct her 'beads' comment. He just smiles and nods.

"I can remember what it felt like to believe for a day. I can remember what it felt like to be a part of a family," she says, and he sees the hurt flicker through her eyes, and it pains him.

_Be a part of my family, _he thinks as he takes a step toward her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Bones, I –"

_I love you, _he shouts in his mind, but it's never verbalized. _She's here looking for support and comfort from her partner and his son. I can't possibly tell her how I feel today. It would be taking advantage of her already emotional state. _

"DR. BONES!" Parker shouts from his bedroom, and Booth's sentence is cut off. They both chuckle silently as he drops his hand to his side.

"Well, sounds like you have some distracting to do so that I can make the best home cooked meal you've ever had," he says giving her his charm smile.

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Are you sure this is okay?" She looks back up at him with her icy blue eyes and he has to take pause. She looks almost as vulnerable in this moment as she did in that warehouse when he saved her from Kenton.

"Bones," he says, grasping her shoulders in his hands, and bringing his face within inches of hers, "You're gonna go play with my kid, then we're gonna open the presents you brought, and then we're gonna eat until we drop, and you're going to enjoy every minute of it, understand?"

"Booth, I don't think it's possible to eat until you drop. What's the context of the word 'drop'? Are we talking dead or unconscious?" His head drops as he sighs. "I'm interested in proving my theory false though," she says in a small voice, and his heart flutters. He gives her his charm smile, turning her around, and gently shoving her toward the hallway.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," he says to her.

"I'll be in your son's bedroom explaining to him phylogeny," she tells him as she walks away.

"He's five, Bones."

"It was a joke, Booth," she shoots back over her shoulder as she goes on down the hallway.

He shakes his head and smiles. _Then again, maybe today is the day. _As he wanders into the kitchen, he hears her say very loudly, "Parker, let me tell you a little something about hexavalent chromium."

"COOL!" His son cries out.

"BONES!" _Please don't turn my son into a squint._

* * *

**So, Brennan might be the hardest person to write ever. I know the characterization of her was a little off, and I'm sorry, but it'll get better with time. I like thinking of Booth as this sort of nervous teenager as opposed to the confident male we see on the show cause afterall, its true love, who wouldn't be nervous? **

**Hope you liked it! Next chapter will be up soon!**


	4. Sunday Mornings

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are terrific. This chapter and the next were supposed to be one, but I felt they were too long. So, I split them up, and just posted them at the same time. This one is basically filler. But enjoy it nonetheless.**

**Again, mistakes in Parker's dialogue are intentional.**

* * *

Booth is delighted by the squeals of laughter coming from his son's bedroom. He can only imagine what his precocious son and his extremely intelligent partner are doing. _Probably building a time machine or something with their hexavalium chromate or whatever, _he thinks.

He's chopping apples for the fruit salad when he hears two sets of footsteps running for the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Parker says, dashing to his father's side.

"Parker!" Booth responds, flicking a little chunk of apple at him.

"Dr. Bones and I would like some egg knock, please." His son gives him his own version of the Booth charm smile and he finds it hard to refuse.

"Didn't I say no more eggnog until dinner?" He asks his son, putting the apple chunks in the fruit bowl, and shoving the salad aside.

"Oh come on, Booth. How can you say no to that face?" Bones says from her perch on the doorframe.

"Yeah, daddy. How can you say no to my face?" His son sticks out his bottom lip and pouts.

Booth shakes his head with a rueful smile. "Did you teach him this?" He gestures to his son's face, accusing his partner.

"Well, we may have talked about various methods of persuasion during an extremely intense game of…" He watches as she bites her lip in concentration, trying to remember what they were playing. Suddenly her eyes light up and he's mesmerized. "Candy Land!"

"Good job, Dr. Bones!" Parker looks at her proudly, and then quickly returns his face to a pout. "Come on, daddy, please? Dr. Bones really wants some. Don't you, Dr. Bones?" The little boy turns his pout on to his partner and he watches the features of her face soften in response.

"Oh, Bones. Don't fall for that! He's using your own tactics against you!"

"Well, I would like some and you didn't make that rule for me, and I don't really like to drink alone. So perhaps both Parker and I could have a small glass before dinner," she tells Booth, putting on a pout of her own. "Please Booth."

"Please Daddy."

Booth sighs and waves his hand in the air. "You're spoiling my son," he says to her, turning to the fridge to retrieve the eggnog. He turns around just in time to see his son smiling with his thumb in the air as his partner returns a somewhat awkward thumbs up sign. He stops.

"Wait, did you two plan this?"

"We have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Booth."

"Yeah, daddy, absowutewy no idea." Parker says, moving from his position next to his father to Brennan's side.

"No idea, huh?" Booth puts the eggnog down on the counter. "That's funny because someone here thinks you might have planned this little charade so that you could get more eggnog." He pauses. "You know who that someone is?"

Parker shakes his head quickly.

"THE CLAW!" Booth raises his arm, showing his hand mangled into a grisly claw and his son squeals.

"What's the claw?" Brennan quickly asks Parker.

"JUST RUN!" Parker laughs, taking her hand and dragging her out of the kitchen. Booth heads out the doorway just in time to see his son and his partner hide behind the couch.

He begins to creep toward them, but pauses when he hears whispering.

"But, I don't understand. What does the claw do?" Brennan asks Parker.

"It CLAWS you!" Booth holds back a chuckle as he gets closer. He peers over the back of the couch to see both Parker and Bones crouching as low as they can with their heads to the floor. The squints would laugh to see Bones in such a position.

He quickly jumps over the back of the couch and grabs his son. Parker squeals half in terror and half in delight as his father drags him up.

"There's no saving you from the CLAW!" Booth yells thrusting his mangled hand into the boy's belly and poking him wildly.

Suddenly, he feels the sharp pang of cold running down his back. He releases his son and jumps off the couch. "What the –" he says, turning to face his son, and sees his partner with a cup of ice.

Parker jumps off the couch and runs to his partner's side. "Good job, Dr. Bones! The Claw doesn't like the cold!"

"You put ice down my back?" Booth asks her. She smiles at him and pulls another piece out.

"You stay away from us with that Claw of yours," she tells him, in her usual assertive tone, raising the ice up to show him she wasn't afraid to use it.

He's watching her play the game with him and his son, protecting his child from his make-believe character and he flashes back to his own childhood. Every Sunday morning, his dad would play the same game and he and his brother would run and hide behind their mother. Whatever she happened to have in her hands would become the Claw's only weakness and she would defeat him. _I could do this with her every Sunday morning, _he thinks. _I could do this everyday for the rest of my life as long as it's with her._

He snaps back to the present when he realizes he's been staring at his partner for a bit too long. The pair is waiting for either the reappearance of the Claw or the reemergence of Daddy and Booth. He glances around him, noticing a half melted ice cube on the floor from where it fell out of the back of his shirt. He scoops it up and slaps it on his hand. With a few good moans and groans and a couple shakes of the arm, the Claw is subdued.

"I think he's gone," Booth tells them, "for now."

"Whoo. That was a close one. Good thinking, Dr. Bones!" Parker beams up at her and she smiles proudly down at him.

"Well, I guess I better get you two your eggnog." Parker begins to jump up and down, excitedly. "Parker, why don't you and Dr. Bones sit down next to the tree, and I'll bring your eggnog and we'll start to open the gifts that she brought?"

"Okay!" His son responds, taking the doctor's hand and leading her to the tree.

"But what about dinner?" She asks him.

"It'll be done in thirty. Relax, Bones. I've got it under control, go sit down. I'll be back with your hard-fought eggnog," he tells her with a wink.

She rolls her eyes at him and allows Parker to direct her as Booth walks into the kitchen.

He hasn't figured out exactly when he's going to tell her, but he knows he has to. Every little thing she does or says reminds him how much he loves her.

He pours their eggnogs as he contemplates ways to tell her how he feels.

Ways to convince her that taking a risk on them would be okay.

Ways to make absolutely certain they have their Sunday mornings.

* * *

**Booth just seemed like a 'Claw' kind of dad. Raise your hand if your dad did the 'Claw' when you were a kid? Just me? Really? Wow, this is awkward. Move along to the next chapter then...**


	5. A Million Presents

**AN: This chapter has more substance. Continue reading...**

* * *

Booth stops in the doorway of the kitchen and watches his partner finger the blanket now resting on his son's shoulders as they sit in front of the brightly lit Christmas tree. _He must have gone to get it; I know I put that away._

"This is a nice blanket, Parker. It's really soft," she says.

"It was my daddy's! He gave it to me cause it's my family," Parker tells her matter-of-factly.

"I don't think I understand," she tells him, and Booth sees her face contort in the confused expression she usually wears when someone makes a pop culture reference.

"It was my daddy's daddy's daddy's blanket! And that's a lot of daddies! I get to have it so that when my daddy's not there, I can hug my blanket and pretend!" He watches his son squeeze the blanket close to his body and his eyes start to water. "Then, I'll feel safe like I do when Daddy's here!" He gives Bones a triumphant smile.

"Well, your Daddy must love you a lot to give you something that special! You're very lucky!" Brennan gives him a great big smile.

"Yeah, I'm gonna share it with him if he starts to miss his Daddy," his son replies and then slaps his hand over his mouth. Booth cocks his head, unsure of what his son didn't mean to say.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Bones. I know your daddy's busy and can't see you on Christmas. I didn't want to say anything cause I didn't want you rememember and be sad," his son tells her.

"Oh no, that's okay, Parker. You didn't make me sad," she says, putting her arm around his shoulder. "You've made me really happy today, actually. I haven't had this much fun in a while."

"Really?" His little boy asks with a quiver, tucking his head against his chest.

"Yep! You and your dad have made this day really special for me and I don't think you could do anything to make me sad today," she lifts his chin with her hand and looks him the eyes. "Okay?"

He nods, wrapping his arms around her neck, and Booth tears up again. _When did I get so goddamned emotional? Buck up, man. _

"Hey, hey, what's going on in here? You making a move on my partner, mister?" He teases his son.

"Don't be silly, Daddy. She's old!" Parker tells him as he takes his eggnog out of his father's hand.

Booth's eyes widen as Bones lets out a huge laugh, standing upright. "Well, I am old, but not as old as your dad," she retorts, reaching out for her eggnog.

"Sorry Bones. We're working on manners," he says, giving his son a pointed stare.

"Booth, he's five. To him, six is old. Its fine," she tells him, sitting herself down on the couch. "Come on, let's open some presents!"

Parker lets out of squeal of glee, slamming his eggnog cup down on the coffee table and quickly grabbing a present from under the tree. "Can I open this one Dr. Bones?" He asks, holding out a large rectangular package.

"Absolutely. You can open all but the small one over on the left. That one's your Daddy's," she says.

Parker nods happily and begins tearing at the wrapping paper.

"You weren't lying. They are all for Parker," he says to her with an amused smile.

"All but one. I told you that," she replies, her eyes never wavering from the child unwrapping his gift.

"I thought you were joking."

"Why would I be joking?"

"Sometimes, you and I, we joke. Crazy, I know, but from time to time, it's been known to happen," he teases and she rolls her eyes and smacks him on the arm.

"Ouch, Bones," he feigns hurt, rubbing his arm for good measure. "Where did you find a store open on Christmas anyway?"

"WOW! Daddy, look at this dinosaur! It's the T-rex! I don't have a T-rex! This is cool!" Parker exclaims, pulling the rest of the dinosaur out of the box.

"Neat buddy. What do you say?" Booth asks trying to make sure his partner realizes he was being serious about the 'working on manners' thing.

"Booth, saying 'thank you' after every gift would be redundant and take an eternity. Can't he just say a collective 'thank you' at the end?"

"I don't know what that means, Dr. Bones," Parker says and Booth bites his lip to keep from laughing.

He watches his partner close her eyes and grin before turning to his son. "That's my line!"

Booth chuckles as Parker furrows his brows. "It's nothing son," he explains. "It just means you can say a really really big thank you at the end, so you don't have to say it every time, okay?" Parker nods enthusiastically and quickly grabs another present. Booth turns to give a look to his partner and he finds her eyes already on him. She gives him an amused smile and he could swear he saw a little something more in her eyes. Just a glimmer, but it was there. He saw it and his heart immediately swells with pride.

"Look daddy! Ice Age 2! Remember when we saw that?"

"I remember, buddy. That was a funny movie."

"I like Manny. Dr. Bones, do you have mannys at the Jerr—Jeff—Jett – at the museum where you work?" Booth smiles as his son stumbles over the institution's name. He doesn't blame him. It's a mouth-full.

"Mannys?" She asks, giving Booth a look of confusion.

"Mammoths," he replies.

"Oh! Sure we have mammoths. In the natural history section. Maybe you could come by one day and we could go see them."

Parker's face immediately lights up. "COOL!" He says, putting the DVD down, and grabbing another present out from underneath the tree.

"Many stores were open til noon today, Booth. And I can be quite persuasive when I want to be," she tells him, answering his previous question.

"As evidenced by the eggnog debacle," he kids.

"DADDY! It's a dinosaur book!" Parker exclaims.

"Oh! That book is a very special book, Parker. Look on the inside." Bones explains. The boy quickly opens the book to the inside of the front cover.

"Its got writing on it!"

"Come over here and I'll read it to you," she says, waving him over. He trots over, pulling himself on to the couch between her and his father, and holds the book out in front of him, open.

"It says, 'To Temperance on Her 6th Birthday: Because I hope you always want to learn more. Love mommy. Because dinosaurs are really cool! Love daddy," she reads, her finger following the words on the page.

Booth's eyes widen in shock.

"Who's Temprest?" Parker asks, looking up at Bones.

"Temperance. That's me. You see, when I was your age, I loved dinosaurs a lot too. So my parents gave me this book to read so I could learn more about them! Your daddy told me you love dinosaurs, so I thought you might like to have it," she explains.

"Bones, are you sure about this?" Booth questions. Its probably one of the only pieces of her childhood she has left and she wants to give it to his son. The little boy who colors in his books and rips the pages out.

"Absolutely! This has great information about dinosaurs! Some of it has been proven false now because it's a little old, but the basics are still sound," she says, smiling at Parker.

"Bones, you should really keep this, it's from your parents and you –" Booth tries to convince her, but she cuts him off with a wave of her hand.

"Booth, I want Parker to have it," she tells him, her eyes revealing how uncertain she already was about the gift, and he wasn't helping. So, he gives her a small smile and nods.

"Don't worry, Dr. Bones. You can come over and read it anytime you want!" Parker says, leaning up to hug her. "This is my favorite," he whispers as only a five year old could whisper, which is practically shouting, and Booth notices his partner's eyes water.

"Parker, why don't you open another present? You've only got a million," he says in a light voice, trying to remove the gravity from the room.

"Okay!" Parker bounds down off the couch, carefully placing the book on the coffee table and then pulling out another present.

Booth stares at his partner with a new found appreciation. _I didn't think it was possible to love her any more but I do. At this second, I love her more than I did five minutes ago. _

She gives him a weak smile, her eyes locking with his, and he's positive this time. _She's trying to tell me something, I can feel it. There's something there. _He gives her grin as he scoots closer to her on the couch, their thighs brushing, and his arm snaking around her on the back of the couch. He'd never dared to hope that she might feel the same way about him. He never wanted to be so optimistic, but now he can't help himself. _She might feel the same._ His smile widens from his thoughts, and then immediately dissipates.

"Daddy, I got a keyboard!"

Booth groans. "Great Bones, something that makes a lot of noise. Thanks so much!"

She chuckles beside him. "Music has many beneficial effects on a child's intellectual and creative processes".

"But you didn't get it for the 'beneficial effects'," he air quotes. "You got it to annoy me."

She turns to look at him with a blank expression. "Well, of course I did. What kind of partner would I be if I didn't annoy you?"

"One who could have a gun?" He responds with equal blankness and she smacks him in the stomach.

"OW! Reason number two why you don't get a gun! You're too violent!" He exclaims, poking her side, and standing from the couch.

"And that, my son," he says, bending over to take the boy's face in his hands, "is going to your mother's house."

* * *

**I buy noisy gifts for my niece all the time and they go directly to mommy's house. Anyway, hope you enjoyed these two chapters. I'll try to update as soon as possible, but as I told many of you, employment really takes away from my writing time. **

**If you get a sec, please review. If not, I'm so psyched about previous reviews, I won't take any offense! I'll keep writin':)**


	6. For a Knight

**AN: Thank you guys so much for all your reviews. For some reason, I'm not getting email alerts anymore for reviews, so it's difficult for me to remember which ones I've responded too. So, if you didn't get a response, it was just an oversight and I do really appreciate your review!**

**AN 2: I earned my T rating again in this chapter...I used a bad word, TWICE! Also, I may have taken some monstrous liberties with the characters in this one, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. :)**

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"Bones, seriously, you're spoiling my son," Booth tells her after Parker finally finishes opening all of her presents, and sits surrounded in a mess of games, books and toys. 

"Well, I didn't know what he liked, so I just bought him one of everything, just in case," she explains. "Seemed logical at the time."

Booth rolls his eyes at her.

"Dr. Bones, I love my presents. Thank you very much," Parker says, climbing into her lap and giving her a hug. Bones, now almost completely accustomed to the boy's affection, wraps her arms around his small body and squeezes.

"You're welcome, Parker. Merry Christmas." Booth watches the scene with pride. Not only did his son remember to say 'thank you' but his partner seemed totally comfortable hugging his child. _This is a day to remember, that's for sure._

"Daddy, open your present!" Parker squeals, hopping off Bones' lap.

"Why don't you get it for him?" Bones tells him, and Booth can't help but notice that she scoots closer to him on the couch, turning her body to face him.

Parker dashes to the tree and scoops up the lone present, bringing it to his father.

"Thanks bud," Booth says, carefully pulling the present away from his son, and subtlety moving closer to his partner. "Let's see what it is!" He grins, tearing the paper off the gift, to reveal a small rectangular box.

He glances up at Bones and sees the ambivalence in her eyes. Catching her look, he gives her a wink, and removes the lid from the box.

"What is it, Daddy?" Parker asks, standing next to his father.

"It's a medallion," Booth replies, looking up at Bones.

"It's Saint George," Bones spits out, her pupils dilating out of nervousness, and her hands wringing in her lap. "Though he's strictly legend, religious historians believe he lived during the third and forth century. He was a tribune, then a count, and a member of the personal guard under Emperor Diocletian, who later because George was a Christian, had him --" Brennan pauses, glancing at Parker and adapting her statement to her audience, "sent away."

Booth smiles at her. _She's getting pretty good at that._

"Who's that, Daddy?" Parker asks, clearly confused by Brennan's explanation.

Booth cocks his head, trying to remember what he knows. "It's Saint George. His cross was worn by the Crusaders, and now it's the national flag of England, who he's patron over. He's also the model of chivalry --"

"And the Patron Saint of knights," Bones cuts him off, looking Booth directly in the eye. Suddenly, he can't breathe. She removes the medallion from the box and holds it out. "I just thought you could have someone looking out for you, while you're looking out for me." Her cheeks blush as she says this.

And just like that, his eyes water again as he carefully takes the necklace out of her hand, their fingers brushing in the pass.

"Bones, I –" he struggles to find the words that would encompass all that he wants to say about this gift. He turns his body towards her fully, their knees touching, as he lays his arm across the back of the couch.

"Is it not appropriate?" He can hear the uncertainty in her voice and he melts.

"It's perfect," he tells her and she smiles, hesitantly laying her arm next to his, placing her hand on his bicep. Her blue eyes lock on his brown ones and almost subconsciously, Booth begins to lean in to his partner. To his surprise, she leans as well, and he starts to celebrate in his mind when the timer for the prime rib goes off.

"YAY! Dinner time!" Parker exclaims, running from the living room.

Booth leans back a little, the moment lost, but grins at his partner. "Bones, thank you. This is great," he says, putting the chain over his neck. "I can't believe you got me such a religious present."

She grins, her hand still resting on his arm. "Well, you're a believer. If you believe he can protect you, then I want him around, however illogical it may be," she replies, looking down at her free hand, fiddling with the couch cushion.

"Bones, you realize what this means, don't you?" Her head shoots up, and her eyes meet his. "You're putting faith in my faith!"

She shakes her head in silent laughter. "I guess I am," she tells him, their eyes still locked.

"You're aware that that's not entirely rational," he teases her.

"Am I not allowed to be irrational from time to time?" She teases back.

"Well, if you are, I hope it's always with me." He gives her his charm smile

"Otherwise, I might get myself into trouble," she kids.

"And then I'd have to save you, being your knight and all," he says arrogantly, jumping up from the couch.

He watches her roll her eyes and chuckles. "How did I know this was gonna go directly to your ego?"

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm your knight in shining armor!" He says, strutting into the kitchen. "Always riding in on my black FBI-issued steed to save the day!"

She follows him in, shaking her head. "There'll be no living with you after this."

"You move pretty fast, Bones, but okay. You can move in with me." He winks at her as he moves to the backdoor to retrieve his prime rib from the barbeque.

She immediately blushes and stumbles over her words, an act he find completely endearing. "That's not what I meant," she shouts as he moves out to the backyard to grab his meat. "I just simply meant working with you will be particularly difficult because your ego will be huge. "

He comes back into the kitchen, one hand balancing the cutting board, laden with prime rib, and the other shutting the door. "Huge? You're seriously underestimating how far I can take this whole 'knight' thing. We're talking an ego of immense proportions," he tells her, placing the prime rib on the counter.

"That's it, I'm taking it back," She tells him, reaching for the chain dangling around his neck. He grabs her wrist to stall her and ends up pulling her body flush against his. He finds her eyes and smiles, leaning his head in to finally kiss her.

"Daddy, I washed my hands! You didn't even have to tell me," Parker says, running into the kitchen. Booth immediately releases Bones' wrist as she takes a step back.

"Good boy!" Booth exclaims, distracted by the deep crimson color of Brennan's cheeks.

"Dr. Bones, I made this for you!" Parker produces a green homemade snowflake, handing it to her.

Booth watches as his partner stoops down to his son's level and smiles, taking the snowflake from his small hands. She stares at the snowflake. "I remember making these. Mine never looked like this," she says in a voice that tells her partner she's being completely serious. "Yours is so good, I think I'll put it on the door of my office, if you don't mind."

"Cool! And I can teach you how to make more, and then you can have all different colors on your door!" He tells her.

"That would be great! Thank you, Parker. It's the best Christmas present I've gotten so far!" She says, surprising Booth by initiating a hug with his son.

"Parker, because you decided to use your dishes as shovels in your new sandbox, I couldn't set your place when I did Dr. Bones' and mine, so why don't you take your plate and cup and set them in your spot?" Booth says, turning around and grabbing the plastic dinnerware from the dish strainer on the counter, and handing it to his son.

"Okay, Daddy!" He cheerily runs to the dining room.

"Pretty good, Bones." He applauds her as he begins to carve slices of the prime rib.

She lets out a sigh. "Booth, I get uncomfortable around children because I don't know how to talk to them, but Parker, he's receptive to me. He seems to understand that my knowledge of kid stuff is limited and he asks me questions that I might know the answer to. He makes me feel like I can't say anything wrong," she says, trying to explain to him what he already knows.

"He makes you feel comfortable?"

She nods. "And when I don't understand something, he explains it to me without judgment, I like that about kids. No judging."

"What do you mean?' He says, halting his carving.

"Nothing, Booth, never mind. I'm starving and so is your son, so let's 'drop'," she says, using air quotes around 'drop' and plastering a fake smile on her face.

_Up goes the wall. Not this time._

Booth's mind wraps around the statement and comes to his own conclusion. "Sometimes I make you feel bad for not knowing something." And his heart breaks thinking he might have hurt her, the absolute last thing he ever wanted to do.

"It's not just you Booth. Everyone does it," she shrugs her shoulders. "It's okay. I'm used to it," she says, her fingers following the edge of the counter.

"No, it's not." He closes his eyes, frustrated with himself. He's supposed to tell her he loves her today and now, he finds out he's been hurting her all along. _I'm such a dick. I've been hurting Bones since the day I met her. I hurt Cam our entire non-relationship. I'm such a dick._

"Booth," she says, dragging him from his thoughts. "People have been doing it all my life. I'm used to it." She places her hand on his shoulder. "You don't do it all the time, only when you're really frustrating with me. And I don't really mind when you do it. I figure it's a trade off. You save my life; you can judge me a little for my lack of knowledge about pop culture." She gives him a wide smile, pulling him into her eyes. "After all, everyone knows a good knight, is a judgmental one."

He closes his eyes again and shakes his head, only managing a weak smile. "I'm no knight," he says in a whisper.

"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Parker shouts from the dining room.

She quickly drops her arm and looks down. "You are to me," she replies quietly, grabbing Parker's plastic utensils from the counter behind him and walking out of the kitchen.

"You forgot these! How were you gonna eat without a fork and a spoon?" He hears her ask.

"With my hands!" Parker giggles.

"Sounds messy!" She replies, and his son giggles more.

He lets out a relieved sigh and continues to cut the prime rib. _The plan's still on. She still needs to know. We can't possibly go back to the way things were before. Not after what I've seen today, the other side of Bones, that no one else gets to see. Not after what she's given me. Not after what she's told me._

"Daddy!" Parker yells again.

"Coming buddy," he says, hoisting three slabs of prime rib on to a platter and carrying them to the dining room.

"Here we go," he says, giving them a wide smile.

"Yay!" Parker claps, and Bones joins in.

"Thank you, thank you," Booth says, bowing dramatically.

"I'll get the rest, and we'll say grace. Then we can eat!"

"You need help, Booth?" Bones asks, standing from the table.

"Sit, Bones. You're a guest. Besides, ladies of the court don't set tables." He smiles cheekily at her as he walks back into the kitchen.

"What does that mean Dr. Bones?" He hears Parker ask.

"It means your dad is a –" She struggles to find a word to describe him.

"Poo-poo head?" Parker suggests.

"I'm not entirely certain I know what that means, but yes, a very big poo-poo head," she tells his son and he can't help himself. He breaks out into laughter as he carries the peas and mashed potatoes to the table, which earns him a pointed glare from his partner.

"All those PhDs, all that schooling, and you're letting my five year old teach you new words?" He teases her.

"Parker has a very good grasp on the English language. I expect his vocabulary to surpass yours in the next year." She gives him a rueful smile.

"You wound me," he says, placing his hand over his chest, as he moves back into the kitchen. He returns with the roll basket, the fruit salad, and a corked bottle of red wine. "Okay, now all we need is the aus jus and the horseradish, and we'll be ready," he says with a pleased smile and goes back into the kitchen.

"This is a lot of food," his partner comments. "Were you expecting more people?"

"No, just the three of us," he says, walking out of the kitchen and placing the accoutrements on the table.

"Booth, do you know the number of children that are starving in Sudan?" She begins to lecture him.

"Not now, Bones. It's time to say grace," he tells her, taking his place at the head of the table with his son on the right, and his love on the left.

"Where's Sudan, Daddy?" Parker asks.

"Africa. Let's say grace," he says quickly.

"Where's Africa?" Booth lets out a sigh of frustration and gives his partner a 'look what you started' glare.

"It's a land across the ocean, Parker. If your daddy has a map or a globe, I can show you after dinner, okay?" She explains and Parker nods enthusiastically.

"Can we say grace now, you two?" Booth says, faking an annoyed tone. They both nod and he smiles.

"Okay, hold hands." He sees Bones' startled look out of the corner of his eye but ignores it, instead grasping her hand and his son's. "Go ahead, Parker."

Parker gets on his knees in his chair to lean across the table. "Dr. Bones, you have to hold my hand." Booth notes her stricken expression, which she quickly tries to cover with a hesitant smile. She reaches her hand out to his son and Parker grabs hold of it, never even noticing her ambivalence about participating in the ritual.

"Thank you Lord for my presents and my food and all the good stuff that we got today. Thank you for letting Dr. Bones eat with us and please tell her mommy merry Christmas, if she's not too busy playing with the angels. Amen!" He finishes.

Booth and Bones stare at his son with similar looks of shock, dropping their hands.

"OH!" Parker exclaims, closing his eyes again. "Tell her thanks for my book too!" His eyes pop back open and he grins. "I've said all my 'thank yous' today, Daddy!"

Booth pulls himself out of his stunned silence to praise his son. "Good job, Parker. You're getting really good at that." He chances a glance at his partner and notices her still shocked expression.

"Well, lets get some food going here." He smiles at his son, before pulling the smallest piece of prime rib on to his plate, and beginning to cut it into small pieces.

"Thank you, Parker," He hears a small voice say. "It was really nice of you to include my mom in that," she tells him and Booth can hardly believe what he's hearing come out of his partner's mouth.

His son simply gives her the Booth charm smile and turns his attention back to his plate.

_Give her time to regroup_, he thinks to himself. "Alright, would you like some peas?"

"Yeah!" Parker shouts, raising his fists in the air.

"I think you may have the only child on the planet that actually likes vegetables. Good job, Booth," Brennan teases, fingering her silverware.

Booth spoons a helping of peas on to his son's plate, before turning to his partner. "Peas?"

"You don't need to serve me, Booth. I can do it myself."

"Yet, you haven't touched anything. So, I'll ask you again. Peas?"

She nods, but opens her to mouth to comment.

"Let me guess, something about alpha male tendencies?" He mocks as he pushes the peas aside to get her a slab of prime rib.

"Just give me some food, Booth."

"Yes ma'am."

"What's an alpha male?" Parker asks, popping a pea into his mouth.

"Your daddy." Bones replies with certainty.

Booth chuckles as he puts mashed potatoes on everyone's plates. "She secretly loves it," he whispers to his son, loud enough for his partner to hear.

He's completely surprised when she sticks her tongue out at him. "Bones! That wasn't very mature," he chastises, totally thrown off by this side of her personality.

"Your son taught me!" She says, pointing her finger at Parker.

"Did not!" Parker exclaims.

"Did too!" Bones antagonizes him by sticking her tongue out at him too.

"Well, Daddy taught me!"

"Who, me? I would never do something so immature and childish," Booth says, with mock indignation. Then, hiding his face with his hand, he sticks his tongue out at his son, so only the boy could see.

"Did you see that, Dr. Bones? He just stuck his tongue out at me!"

"I did not! How could you say that Parker?"

"You did too, Daddy! You saw it, right, Dr. Bones?"

"I didn't see it, but I believe you, Parker," she says, handing him a roll and then putting one on her plate and Booth's.

"Hah! Dr. Bones believes me!"

"Yeah, yeah, eat your food, mister. Turning Bones against me," Booth teases with a smile. _This feels right. We feel like a family. _

_Now I just have to work on taking it from temporary to permanent. _

His eyes meet Brennan's and she gives him a silly grin. _She feels it too._

Booth's face forms his infamous smile as he reaches for the fruit salad. _Thank God she feels it too._

* * *

**So, what did you think? Let me know. I've had some votes for varying POV for a chapter? I kinda have an idea for a Parker chapter, but it would just be an interlude. Probably no real story development in that one, I imagine. I'd have to really think about a Brennan POV chapter. And you know how I feel about thinking...anywho, thoughts? I love your opinions! Let me know:)**

**FYI: Not a Catholic. My knowledge of Saint George is from a long ago history class and Encarta. Yeah, I know, the medallion thing's been done. But come on! Patron Saint of Knights? Had to use it! It's fluff gold!**


	7. First Time Traditions

**AN: First of all, the reviews from the last chapter were phenomenal. You guys are terrific. Second of all, this chapter is pretty much filler-time-line movement, no real plot advancement. But I wanted to give you something because I told you I would. Plus, work has suddenly become overwhelming and I don't know when I'll be able to update again. So, I wanted to leave you with a little fluff...enjoy!**

* * *

"Booth, that was great," his partner tells him, pushing her chair back from the table. "I'm sufficiently satiated." 

He silently laughs at her, pushing back from the table himself, and taking in a deep breath. He looks over at Parker and watches as he rolls off his chair.

"Parker!" His partner yells. "Are you alright?" She stands from her seat, placing her hands on the table to lean over and check on him.

"It's alright, Bones," he replies, placing his hand on top of one of hers. To his surprise, she doesn't even flinch. "He's 'dropping'." And with that, he rolls off his chair too, and hits the floor to lie next to his son.

He watches as Bones peers over the table at him and his son, lying on the ground, hands on their bellies. "It's tradition," he tells her. "We eat until we drop." The charm smile makes another appearance.

"Come on Dr. Bones!" Parker shouts from his spot on the floor, waving her over. She looks at his son skeptically before she walks around the table. Booth watches her struggle with comprehension as she carefully sits herself down on the other side of Parker.

"But, why?" She asks his son, tilting her head to one side.

"Because we're full!" He replies simply, tugging on her arm, pulling her to lie down next to him.

"Fullness is actually the increase of the hormone, leptin, released when food enters the gastrointestinal tract, mediated by the hypothalamus. Your stomach isn't really full, it's just satiated."

Booth smiles. "I don't know, Bones. Look at this belly," he lifts up his son's t-shirt. "This belly looks full to me," he says, tickling Parker.

"Stop it, Daddy!" Parker squeals out between giggles, pushing his hands away.

For a moment, everything is quiet while the trio lies on the floor, staring at the ceiling, reveling in the stupor that only absolute satiation can provide. Booth glances at Parker with paternal pride, and then looks over his head to his partner. To his surprise, she's looking at him too. She smiles widely at him and his heart skips a beat.

_This **is** the best Christmas ever,_ he thinks.

"Dr. Bones, will you show me Africa now?" Parker asks, looking up at her.

"Sure, Parker," she replies with a smile.

"That's a good idea," Booth says, sitting up. "Parker, why don't you get the globe out of my office and bring it into the living room? Bones can show you where Africa is and show you all the places she's been." He turns his attention to his partner. "That'll take what? Four hours? Maybe five?" He gives her a wide grin, as she sits up.

"Hardly Booth. Maybe 30 minutes at the most," she says, finally looking at his face. "But you were being sarcastic, weren't you?" Her cheeks blush as she looks down, her hair falling like a curtain to cover her face.

Booth can't contain the itch he has to brush her hair back, so he reaches out his hand and tangles his fingers in her auburn locks, pushing them behind her right ear. Her blue eyes meet his and they draw him in. _Like a tractor beam_, he thinks.

"Daddy, if you kiss her, you'll get cooties," Parker whispers from his spot between them. Booth drops his hand from his partner's head and ruffles his son's hair.

"Go get the globe, bud." Parker quickly stands and runs out of the dining room.

Noticing the embarrassed look on his partner's face, Booth decides to ignore what his child said and move on. "I'm gonna clear the table," he says in a quiet voice. To his surprise, she places her hand in the crook of his elbow to stall him.

He turns to look at her and finds her face filled with concern. "We --" she stops. "I think –"

"Got it!" Parker shouts, returning from his quest.

"We'll talk later, Bones," Booth says, standing up, and offering her his hand. She nods but gives his hand a pointed glare. He smirks and shakes his head, lifting his hands up in mock surrender.

"Now, go finish what you started," He tells her as she stands and gently pushes her toward his son.

"Your son has a healthy interest in geography. That's a good thing, Booth," she tells him, walking over to Parker and taking the globe from his hand.

"He's also has a not so healthy interest in boogers and Sesame Street, so don't get too excited, Bones," he says with a smile.

Suddenly, her face lights up, her eyes widening as she looks down at Parker. "My favorite was Snuffleupagus," she tells him.

"Mine's Elmo!" Parker tells her with a silly smile and she nods.

"Bones, you know about Sesame Street?" He asks in amazement. _She always finds a way to surprise me_.

"I watched it when I was a kid," she tells him proudly, clearly pleased the she could relate to Parker on another level. Glancing down at his son, she jerks her head towards the living room.

"Bones?" He begins to pick up the plates from the table, stacking the dishes in his arms. She comes back through the doorway with the globe still in her hands and quirks her eyebrow. "Snuffie was always my favorite too," he tells her with his charm smile.

She smiles back at him. "Do you want my help?"

"No, no," he tells her, waving her off. "You go continue my son's eventual downfall into squint-dom."

"You should be so lucky," she says, walking out the door. He shakes his head at no one in particular, as he takes all he can carry and heads to the kitchen.

"Parker, how would you like a chemistry set for your birthday?" His partner asks, clearly antagonizing him.

"Yeah!" He exclaims.

Booth rolls his eyes at her as he walks by and into the kitchen. He sets the plates in the sink and lets out a sigh. _What was she going to say? _

He prays that it was something along the lines of what he's wanted to say all night long. _But what if it wasn't?_

He opens the dishwasher, as he flicks on the faucet to rinse the plates. _I know she feels something. I've seen it in her eyes all night. Something is going on in that beautiful, brilliant head of hers. _

Placing the plates in the dishwasher, he returns to the table to gather more dishes, catching bits and pieces of his partner and son's conversation as he passes them.

"What's a conitent?" asks his son.

"A continent is…" his partner trails off for a second, "a big mass of land." He chances a glance over at the duo and smiles at the sight of Bones sitting on the couch and Parker standing between her legs, both staring and pointing at the globe on the coffee table. "There are seven continents," she tells him. Booth gathers the rest of the dishes on the cutting board and heads to the kitchen.

"A long time ago there was a really big piece of land called Pangaea," he hears his partner saying as he passes. He stops.

"Pangaea, Bones?"

"Would you like to join our little geography lesson Booth?" She teases.

"I know what Pangaea is, Bones."

"Daaaaddy. Dr. Bones is teaching me stuff...be quiet," Parker tells him matter-of-factly.

"Okay, but I draw the line at words with more than four syllables," he tells them with a smile and proceeds to the kitchen.

As he goes to dump the excess food in the trashcan, he starts to think about Sudan and he decides to bag the leftovers instead. _Maybe we'll have it for dinner tomorrow after Parker leaves. Bones seemed to like the mashed potatoes, she had two helpings. I'll have to remember that for next time._

He moves to the sink to rinse the rest of the dishes, when he realizes he's talking about the future as if it's already set. _You still have to tell her, idiot._

He finishes loading the dishwasher and pours three small glasses of eggnog. _One more glass won't hurt him._

"Daddy, I'm learning about the conitents!" Parker exclaims, as Booth moves into the living room, cautiously carrying the glasses of eggnog.

He sets the glasses on the coffee table and gives his partner a look, to which she simply shrugs and removes the globe from the table, and he smirks. "Well, how about you take a break from learning and we drink some eggnog and watch Charlie Brown?"

"Yeah!"

"Charlie Brown?" Bones asks, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Yeah, you know, the Peanuts Gang?" Booth says, settling next to her.

"We always watch Charlie Brown, Dr. Bones, it's traditon!" Parker tells her, grabbing the DVD from the DVD rack and bringing it to his father.

"You can do it buddy," he tells his son. Parker smiles widely at the responsibility.

"You do this every year?" Bones asks, turning her head toward her partner.

"Well, I mean," Booth takes a deep breath and drapes his arm around the back of the couch, his hand gently brushing her shoulder. "This is the first year we've done it, but it will be a tradition!" He smiles at her and she shakes her head at him. "And we did drop after Thanksgiving dinner, didn't we bud?"

"Uh huh!" Parker returns to the couch and insinuates himself between Booth and Bones, but neither seem to mind, as Booth hands them their eggnog.

"You know that, after this, it's off to bed, right?" He tells his son.

"But Daaaaddy!"

"Paaaaaarrrker," Booth mocks him.

"I wanna stay up with you and Dr. Bones," Parker says, putting on a pout.

"Oh no, that's not going to work this time. I know your tricks, little man. I'll read you one story."

"Two stories!"

Booth pretends to think about this. "One story and I make pancakes in the morning. Deal?" He takes his arm off the back of the couch and holds out his hand.

"Deal!" Parker says triumphantly, shaking his father's hand and throwing himself back against the couch. Booth grins, grabbing the blanket from the other arm of the couch and draping it over the three of them with Bones' help. He returns his arm to the back of the couch, purposely placing his hand at her shoulder.

As the movie begins to play, Booth watches Brennan lean down and whisper something to Parker.

"Girls have 'em," Parker responds nonchalantly.

"Yes, but what are they?" Bones asks again, confusion coloring her expression.

Booth watches his son cock his head to one side and bite his lip. Then, as if coming to a decision, he whips his head around and looks at his father.

"Daddy, what are cooties?"

Parker and Bones look at him with hopeful expressions and he can't help but smile.

_This is my family. _

"Cooties, right, well…"

* * *

**You see? Time has been wasted and nothing has happened. I promise you that the next chapter will involve THE TALK. So, don't back out now. It's coming, I swear:)**


	8. A Conversation of Interruptions

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here it is! The next chapter! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I responded to most of them before I remembered that the email system is down. When they fix it, will the back emails be sent? If you know the answer to that, let me know. If not, I just want to say how incredibly grateful I am for all of your guys' wonderful reviews! You guys are absolutely terrific!**

**A/N 2: Just some story notes: Parker has all of three lines in this one but again, in case you've forgotten, misspelling in his dialogue is intentional. And italics indicate Booth-thought. And thats it! Enjoy 'THE TALK'.**

* * *

"I think he's asleep," Booth whispers to his partner as the credits begin to roll. 

Bones rolls her eyes at him. "He's been asleep since five minutes into the movie," she tells him, indicating his son lying against her arm. "And I think he's drooling on me."

Booth chuckles softly. "Well, that means he likes you! He doesn't just drool on anyone, you know." He smiles at her and she laughs silently.

"I'm gonna put him to bed," he tells her, carefully removing the blanket, and sliding his arms underneath his sleeping son. "Don't go anywhere." She nods, her hands reaching out beneath Parker as he picks the child up, as if he might drop him.

Booth quickly makes his way to Parker's bedroom and lays him on the bed. In the midst of changing him into his pajamas, he wakes up slightly.

"Daddy?" His voice is thick with sleep.

"Hey bub. Go back to sleep," he says, lifting some curls away from his son's eyes.

"Do I still get pancakes?"

Booth smiles. "Yeah, buddy. You still get pancakes." He throws his son's discarded clothes into the laundry basket and turns on the night light.

"I like Dr. Bones, Daddy."

"That's good, buddy. She's a good friend," he tells his son, sitting down on his bed.

"She should come every year. It'll be a new traditon." Parker's eyes slip shut once again, and Booth leans down to kiss his forehead.

"That would be nice," he whispers. "Merry Christmas, son." He stares at his child's face for a moment, before standing and moving to the door.

_This is it, _he thinks as he flicks off the light. Taking a deep breath, he gently pulls the door shut behind him, leaving it open a crack.

As he wonders back into the living room, he notices that the couch is empty and immediately starts to panic.

_Did she leave? I pushed, she got scared and bolted. _

He starts to unhinge when he hears the sink running in the kitchen.

"Bones," he says, as he leans on the doorframe. "What cha doing?"

"Wiping down the counters," she tells him without turning around.

"Why?"

She finally turns, her brow knitted together, and her eyes penetrating his. "Because they're dirty?"

He has to take a deep breath to calm his heart. "Yes, but why are _you _doing it?"

She turns back to the counters and continues wiping. "Well, you made dinner, so I thought I would just clean up a bit while you were putting Parker to bed." She gives a little shrug of her shoulders, and Booth almost can't control the urge to wrap his arms around her.

"Well, stop. You're a guest," he says, entering the kitchen and heading toward the fridge. "Glass of wine?"

"Sure," he hears her say, and he smiles. _She's not scared yet._

He pulls the bottle of Chardonnay out of the fridge and turns to find her staring at him, hip leaning against the sink, and arms crossed over her chest. Her brows furrow as she stares at him.

"What, Bones?" He asks, moving to the cupboard to pull out wine glasses.

"I don't understand why they don't like him," she tells him.

"Why who don't like who?" He stops in the midst of his pouring to look at his partner.

"Whom. And Charlie Brown."

Booth chuckles softly and continues to pour their wine. "Because he's got a Charlie Brown head," he says and gets a blank stare from his partner. "They just don't, Bones."

"But there's no rational reason not to like him," she says, voice filled with concern.

"Bones, it's just a cartoon," he tells her, handing her a glass of wine.

"I know, but it's unfair to not like someone just because they look different." She quickly takes a sip of her wine.

There was something in her voice that made him think she might not be talking about Charlie Brown anymore. "You're absolutely right." He says, throwing a charm smile her way.

She smiles as their eyes meet, and it feels like hours before he can actually speak. "Bones, I need to tell you something," he starts.

"Where's Cam?" She asks quickly, turning back to a particularly stubborn stain on his counter.

Booth's flabbergasted. He starts to respond several times but he just can't figure out what to say.

Finally, she looks at him, and holds her hand up. "It's alright, Booth. You don't want to talk about your relationship with Cam, that's fine," she tells him, scrubbing viciously.

_Pull it together, man. You're screwing this up._

"There's nothing to talk about," he sighs, taking a gulp of his wine. She turns, placing the sponge on the sink, lifting one eyebrow up in question. "Whatever we were, it's over now."

She stares down at her feet, placing her hands in her pockets. "I'm sorry," she says in a whisper.

"I'm not." Her head snaps back up and she stares him directly in the eye. "Cam and I…we weren't…it wasn't –". He can't seem to get out what he's trying to say. He takes a step closer to her so that he's within arm's length. "It didn't mean anything. It was just—"

"Sex," she finishes. He flushes a bit but nods. She gives a pronounced nod in agreement, takes her wine and leaves the kitchen.

_What just happened?_

He grabs his glass and follows her out into the living room, where she sits on the couch and gestures for him to do the same. He cautiously settles himself next to her, within inches of touching, and turns to find her staring at him.

"Go ahead," she says.

He shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. _What is she talking about?_

"You said you needed to tell me something," she says, and urges him to continue with a roll of her hand.

"Right," he says, clearing his throat, and turning his entire body to face hers. His mouth gapes like a fish for a moment before she shifts her body to face his, rolling her eyes.

"Squirt it out," she tells him.

He smiles. "Spit, Bones. 'Spit it out'."

Her face screws up in defiance. "I think squirt could have worked."

He shakes his head, softly chuckling.

"Booth," she places her hand on his knee, "you've been trying to tell me something all night. So, just tell me."

He gives her a doubtful look.

"Booth, I'm ignorant of pop culture and without certain social graces; I do not lack observation skills."

He tilts his head and stares at her.

"Okay. I do lack some observational skills and I'm not very good with people. But I'm good with you," she says, quietly. "I can see through you," she whispers, looking down at her lap.

"Yeah. You always could," he replies softly, placing his hand over hers on his knee.

_This is it. No big speeches, no references she won't understand, no flowery words that she'll hate. Just tell her how you feel._

"Bones, I want to tell you something, and I don't want you to get scared, or panic, or bolt out the front door. I just want you to listen to me, and then we'll go from there. Okay?"

She looks at him dubiously, but nods her head, their eyes locked on each other.

"I'm not exactly certain how to tell you this, so I'm just gonna be blunt because I figure that's what you'd prefer. Bones, I –"

"Are you being reassigned?" She quickly asks concern in her voice and her features.

"What? No, Bones, that's not it."

"Are you sick? Is it cancer?" She shoots off the questions so fast his head starts to spin.

"NO, Bones, I'm not sick. Would you please—"

"Are you quitting? Because you're extremely good at your job and I don't think –"

"I'm not quitting, Bones –"

"But you are leaving our partnership? I know that I can be difficult to work with, Booth, but think of all the good we do –"

"I'm not going anywhere, Bones!" He practically shouts, annoyance emanating from his tone.

"Well, I don't understand. I can't think of anything else you could say where I'd get scared."

"Well, maybe you should let me finish a damn sentence!" He tells her, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration.

Her face flushes and she quickly stares down at her lap.

He releases a sigh of relief and turns his face back to his partner. He watches her for a second, reveling in how beautiful she looks, and he smiles. Lifting her chin with his fingers, he finds her eyes. "I love you, Bones." He watches as her eyes widen and her entire body tenses. "No," he tells her, placing his other hand on her arm. "We agreed you wouldn't panic."

He releases his hold on her chin and places his palm on her cheek, weaving his fingers through her auburn hair. "Now, you're probably thinking about the consequences of this. Whether you feel the same way or not, you're probably worrying about our professional relationship, how we're going to work together, in a relationship, not in a relationship, how do we remain friends after this, and if things go wrong, how do we salvage what we used to have?" He gets an extra boost of confidence when he realizes her body has slowly relaxed under his hold, and her eyes have not wavered from his.

"But I'd really like you not to do that right now. I want you to push the future aside. I don't want you to analyze anything. I just want you to tell me what you feel, okay?"

She nods slowly. He releases her face, relaxing his arm onto the back of the couch, his fingers lightly brushing her shoulder. He places his other hand on her knee just to keep contact. _I need to touch her._

She takes in a deep breath, closing her eyes. "You're wrong," she replies in a quiet voice. He leans back a little, his heart plummeting into his stomach.

_Please God. Don't let her turn me down. Please let her love me too._

"I wasn't thinking all that," she says, opening her eyes. "I was thinking that that was the reason you've been trying to kiss me all night."

He stares at her in shock and amazement. _What does that mean? Does that mean she does or she doesn't?_

"I can't read any other living person on this planet, Booth. But I can read you." Her face softens as she gazes at him.

His mouth forms a small smile. "Yeah."

"Booth, --"

_She's thinking, Seeley. Stop her._

"I know what you're gonna say, Bones. We're too different. You're a head person, I'm a heart person. I'm a traditionalist and you're more unconventional. You're independent and like to take care of yourself and I'm probably the best example of an alpha male you've ever seen."

"Booth, I wasn't --"

_Yes she was._

"Please, listen to your heart for two seconds."

"Booth, you –"

_No science lessons!_

"I know, Bones. Your heart can't tell you anything. It's an organ that pumps blood through the body. It doesn't contain feelings or emotions. I know that. You've told me that a thousand times, just give it a chance.'

"Well, you don't—"

_She's balking._

"Bones, please. Could you pretend we're not at some sort of science conference? Because I don't--"

"BOOTH!" She shouts. He turns his head to look at her, his eyebrows drawn up in surprise.

"I love you too."

* * *

**Yep, I did leave it right there. I have to go get ready for a New Year's Eve party, but I wanted to get this done and out there for your reading pleasure. Hope y'all have a very safe and Happy New Year:)**


	9. Being Adults

**A/N: Hello all! Sorry for the delay in getting this up, but this was, by far, the hardest chapter to write. Now I know why the writers don't put them together...it's too hard to write. **

**A/N 2: I want to thank you all for your fantastic reviews. I'm so disappointed the email system is down because I want to respond to all the reviews individually and I will do that as soon as the emails go back up. But I just wanted to say a collective 'thank you' now because you guys are too much. Really and truly, I appreciate all of you! Alright, done with the mush, on with the story.**

* * *

_Not possible. No way._

Booth feels his heart hammering in his chest as his mouth falls open, trying to think of some sort of response.

_Please let her say it again. Just one more time so I can be sure._

"Hmm?" It's all he can manage to squeak out with the deafening sound of blood rushing in his ears, and he immediately regrets it. _Very suave._

She rolls her eyes and gives a little sigh. "You're actually going to make me say it again? I said 'I love you too'."

He straightens in his seat, pulling the bended leg on the couch closer to his body, willing his heart to calm. "But you don't believe in love," he tells her. "You're always telling me that love is only a chemical reaction in your brain."

"Why are you trying to convince me that I don't love you?" Her eyes twinkle with amusement.

"I don't understand."

_She seems so calm. How can she be so calm?!_

"I'm just doing what you told me to do. You said to use my heart. And while technically, feelings and emotions originate in the brain, I can understand the idea of using your heart. And my 'heart' seems to be saying that, you know—". She shrugs her shoulders and blushes and he can't contain the grin that spreads across his face.

"That doesn't make what you said about how different we are any less significant, Booth…"

The grin immediately disappears as his heart sinks low in his chest.

_This is worse. She loves me but she doesn't think we can make it. She doesn't want to risk it. Convince her, Seeley._

"Bones, we should—". He tries to say as a nauseous feeling invades his stomach.

She holds up her hand. "Can we just have one conversation where we're adults and don't interrupt each other? Allow me to finish my sentence and you can say whatever you want, okay?" He nods cautiously, terrified of what she might say.

"Now, what I was going to say was that 'love' does not eliminate the differences between us or brand them any less significant or absolute. They're pretty hard to ignore, Booth. Besides all of what you said, you want marriage and kids and some sort of fence that I really don't understand, and I don't. Your religion plays a large part in your life and I don't believe in any of it. These differences can't just be disregarded because we love each other."

_Remain calm. You're very convincing. You can convince her that these differences can be overcome. Love shall overcome. _

"However, I suspect that 'love' can attenuate their impact and make them more tolerable," she says in her usual no-nonsense tone of voice.

Underneath all the big words and techno-babble, Booth realizes what she's trying to say.

_She believes in us._

"Booth?" He hears her ask while his mind begins to celebrate.

"Hmm?" He mentally slaps himself in the forehead.

_How about a two syllable word next time, you idiot?_

"It's your turn."

He tilts his head to look at her, his heart still pounding, and her eyes catch his. "Hmm?"

_Say 'Hmm' again, Seeley Booth, and I'll make you run twenty miles tomorrow. _

"We're taking turns, remember? I speak, then you speak, and hopefully, when you do, it'll be polysyllabic."

_She noticed, putz._

His forehead creases as he gives her an apologetic smile. He opens his mouth but quickly shuts it.

She rolls her eyes at him, but scoots closer, pressing her leg against his from knee to ankle. "I'll help you," she says with a smile. "You said, 'Bones, we should'. Now, you take it from there."

He takes in a deep breath, ready to say everything that's been circling through his head all night and all day long, but he pauses. He watches her, watching him, her blue eyes all lit up like when they solve a case, head tilted, waiting for him to say his peace, and he can't remember why he was so nervous.

Her face contorts into the familiar expression she holds when she starts to get impatient with him and he smiles.

"We should…" She says, rolling her hand in the air, urging him to finish his sentence.

He has no idea what he was going to say when he started that sentence, but he has only one thing on his mind now.

"Kiss." He grabs her wrist out of the air, gently tugging her toward him, and brushes his lips against hers. Her eyes slip shut almost immediately and it spurs him to action. He slides his other hand in her hair, pulling her face more firmly against his own. He sucks her lower lip into his mouth and is thoroughly delighted when he feels her place her free hand on the back of his neck and tug him closer, deepening the kiss. For a few moments, he's completely lost, reveling in the feel of her mouth against his. He slides his hand from her wrist to her palm, intertwining their fingers and giving a gentle squeeze.

_Wow. _

As the kiss comes to its natural conclusion, he slowly pulls back and watches as her eyes flutter open. "Wow," she whispers and he chuckles, knowing that she's voicing what he's thinking.

"Your turn," he says taking a breath, his fingers still wrapped in her hair.

She looks taken aback as she releases his neck and quirks her eyebrows.

He laughs inwardly, wondering what she thinks he meant by that. "It's your turn to talk, Bones."

"Hmm?"

He can't hold back the loud bark of laughter that falls out. She gives him a glare and he has the urge to kiss it away. "Remember? You speak, I speak? Poly syllogism or whatever?" He patronizes her.

She rolls her eyes. "Polysyllabic, Booth."

"Whatever, Bones. You got something to say or not?" He teases her.

"I did, but I can't remember now." She bites her lip in concentration and he decides not to fight the impulse this time. Leaning forward, he pulls her lip from her teeth with his own. Massaging the lip between his for a second, he releases it and sits back.

"Stop that," he says in a husky tone.

"You're not helping. I have something to say," she tells him petulantly.

He throws his hands up in mock surrender. "By all means."

She scoots back from him, pressing her back into the arm of the couch, eliminating all contact between them. She stares at her hands in her lap for a moment before she looks at him in defeat. "I can't remember."

_I kissed her reservations out of her. I'm that good._

"Would you mind if I took your turn, then?" He asks her. She shakes her head, leaning toward him, clearly expecting him to kiss her again.

_I'm the man. _

A large grin spreads across his face as he hops up off the couch. "I have gifts for you." He hides the chuckle that threatens to erupt after seeing the look of shock on his partner's face and strides over to the bookcase, pulling two neatly wrapped boxes from the very top.

He moves back to the couch and settles down almost directly on top of her, leaving absolutely no space between the two of them. Wordlessly, he hands her the first gift, a rectangular shaped present wrapped in shiny blue paper.

She takes it from him with a small smile. "Booth, you didn't have to."

He rolls his eyes at her and lets out a sigh. "Oh come on, Bones. Don't be so cliché."

"What? I don't participate in this whole gift-giving thing," she explains, turning her body to sit forward on the couch, and beginning to unwrap the gift.

"Says the woman who bought my child no less than twenty five presents," he says incredulously.

She shakes her head. "You know what I mean. I don't do this whole Christmas thing," she tells him, fingers halting on the wrapping paper. "I don't deserve a present."

"Everybody deserves a present, Bones," he says softly.

"Even me?" She asks looking at him with a hopeful expression.

He gives her his charm smile. "Especially you." She smiles shyly at him as she turns her attention back to the present in her lap.

She pulls the paper away from the present and gawks. "Booth."

He begins to laugh, putting his arm around her on the back of the couch, and she glares at him. "Oh come on, Bones. Now when you don't have a clue what people are talking about, you can look it up! Besides, you love to read!"

"'Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century'? Is this a joke?"

"No. My suggestion is you carry it around in your purse." She smacks him in the chest. "Hey, at least, it's a paperback." He receives another smack. "You don't like it?" He whines, putting on a pout.

"Oh, stop it," she says, nudging his side with her elbow. "I like it just fine. I just didn't expect it, that's all."

"Well, you're not suppose to know what you're getting, Bones. That would take all the fun out of it." He looks down at the book and recalls their conversation from earlier and suddenly feels like an idiot. "I hope this doesn't make you feel…you know, self-conscious or anything. It doesn't mean anything," he tells her.

"What? No, Booth. This is great. If anything, this'll help make me less self conscious. It's a thoughtful gift, thank you."

He smiles widely at her, wondering when she got so good at comforting people. "Eh, it was nothing."

She shakes her head with a smile and begins to thumb through the book. "Not now, Bones. I got another one for you," he tells her, removing the book from her hands and placing the other gift in her lap.

She grins at him as she begins to tear at the shiny green paper, uncovering the white rectangular box beneath.

_Please let her like this. Please God._

Lifting the lid, she unfolds the tissue paper to find a double picture frame. The grin immediately disappears from her face and she pales.

"Angela picked out the frame," he admits in soft voice, suddenly becoming extremely uncomfortable about his 'serious gift'. He watches her stare down at the frame and wonders if this was a good idea.

She sits with one hand on the frame and the other at her side for a good minute before she speaks. "Where did you get this?" she asks him in a voice barely above a whisper.

"The file," he responds. "Your parents' file had a family photo. I had it, uh, I had it reprinted."

She nods solemnly, continuing to gaze at the frame.

_A perfect day ruined by your brilliant idea, Seeley. Why don't you remind her that her dad and brother abandoned her AGAIN? That'll just be the icing on the cake._

He shakes his head as if to physically remove his negative thoughts as he decides to explain himself.

"This was your family then," he tells her, pointing to the black and white family photo of the Brennans, where Bones was no more than ten. He remembers coming across the photo in the file and thinking what a beautiful child she was. She seemed happy and his heart broke thinking about how everything would change when she was fifteen.

Pointing to the photo directly beneath the Brennans, he says, "and this is your family now." He indicates the black and white picture of him and the squints at Wong Foo's. It had been a random moment when they were all celebrating a case, and he deigned to sit with them because they had done so well. They were all happy and all smiles and Sid caught a picture.

She looks up at him, eyes filled with unshed tears and he can't tell if she likes the gift or not.

"You don't have any pictures," he blurts out and she draws up her eyebrows. "In your apartment. You have artifacts and trinkets from all over the world but you don't have any pictures. I thought you might like one of your families." He removes his arm from her shoulders and places his hands in his lap.

"Thank you, Booth," he hears her whisper in his ear, before placing a kiss on his cheek.

_And thank you, God._

He turns his face to look at her, and finds hers only inches from his own. "I just want you to know who your family is. No matter what happens, these people are your family," he tells her, pointing to the squints.

_Tell her now. You may never get another chance. Tell her everything._

"You and I. We're family. I mean, you're my partner and my best friend and I love you. I've always loved you and I will always love you, and nothing could change that. Even if for some reason, we can't get this," he gestures between them, "to work out, though I have a 'forever' kind of feeling about us, I will still be here for you. I just need you to understand that. Okay?"

She nods her head, biting her lip, placing the frame and box on the side table next to her. "Okay."

He places his hand on the side of her face, running his thumb over her lips. "I told you to stop that."

She smiles but shrugs. "How can you have a 'forever' kind of feeling about us? We haven't even started."

He shakes his head. "Bones, we started the day we met. There's just been no kissing, no dating, and no –". He pauses.

"Sex," she answers. "Really, Booth, you're an adult. You can say the word."

"I don't think sex is the appropriate word," he mutters out.

"It's a biological term, Booth. It's perfectly appropriate," she responds, giving him a condescending look.

"Not for us. When you love someone, it's not sex." He's emphatic.

"Of course it's sex, Booth. What else would it be?" She laughs at him.

He gives a frustrated sigh. "You told me once that sex was a biological urge. Love is not an urge, Bones. So, its not sex when you're in love," he says in an annoyed tone.

_She has to understand what I'm trying to say. _

She sits forward, furrowing her brow, and staring at him. "This is one of those things we're going to have to work through. You're a romantic and I'm a pragmatist."

He sighs. He knew that when he fell for her. He smiles, tugging her back to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. "You'll change your mind, trust me," he says into her hair, placing a kiss on her temple.

He hears her release a deep, probably long awaited sigh, and feels her body relax against his own. She tentatively places her head on his shoulder. "That sounds like a challenge."

"Oh baby, that was a promise." He doesn't even have to look at her to know she's rolling her eyes at him. "I'm gonna prove you wrong, Bones. I'm gonna prove you wrong about everything," he says in a soft voice.

She lifts her head to look at him, hesitantly placing her hand on his chest. "I'm interested in seeing that." He gives her a broad grin and places a chaste kiss on her lips. "I'm not wrong though," she tells him, returning her head to his shoulder.

He chuckles, grasping the hand on his chest in his. "Of course you're not, Bones. You never are."

They sit for a moment in complete silence and Booth revels in it.

_I never imagined the night going so well. I could do this forever._

"Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"Do I have cooties now?"

He tilts her face back with his hand and smiles. "Yes. Definitely. Lots and lots of cooties," he says, his lips meeting hers in a passionate kiss.

_The best Christmas ever._

* * *

**A.) I know. The photo thing's been done. I couldn't help it!**

**B.) More liberties with characters? You know it. But I mean, do we really know how they would react? No. So, this is my version of it and, by the way, my least favorite chapter. The angst is more fun to write, I have to admit. I understand the 'Bones' writers now...doesn't mean I'm on their side...but I understand them. **

**C.) Hope you all had a safe and Happy New Year!! I'm thinking one more chapter and perhaps an epilogue. Or not. I'm not entirely certain. We'll see.**


	10. The Morning After

**A/N: Hiya! Sorry for the delay folks! Extended business trip, company laptop...you know the drill. Who's excited? Christmas is finally over! Longest Christmas EVER. Anywho, here it is. The much discussed, very special Parker POV. He's very wise for a five year old. It's not a very plot-worthy chapter, but oh well. Parker's fun to write. **

**A/N 2: I think the email system is slowly starting to work! YAY! Plus I'm almost all caught up with reviews so hopefully you'll get those in the next four or five years. I want to thank you all for sticking with the last chapter (which I wasn't a fan of) and reviewing. You guys are great! So, enjoy my friends!**_

* * *

Pancakes. I get pancakes. _

Parker Booth jumps from his bed and heads directly for his new dump truck. Pushing it across his floor a few times, he decides he wants pancakes more than he wants his truck, and abandons the toy.

He pads out of his bedroom and wanders down the hallway to his father's room.

"Daddy?" He says, pushing the door open. "Daddy!" He runs to the bed and finds no daddy.

Scrunching up his face in confusion, he decides to check the kitchen.

_Maybe he's already making my pancakes!_

He runs down the hallway and skids to a halt when he hears a snore come from the living room.

_That sounds like Daddy._

Turning toward the living room, he sees his father's head just over the back of the couch. Parker tiptoes forward with a grin and rounds the couch.

What he finds surprises him.

_Dr. Bones?_

He stares at the sight in wonder.

_Why are they sleeping on the couch? Daddy has a bed. _

His father is sound asleep, sitting up on the couch with his partner curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder, his head resting against hers.

_I want pancakes._

"Daddy?" Parker whispers as he walks around the coffee table to his father's side of the couch. He halts a few steps away.

"Daddy?" He says a little louder. He leans forward and pokes his father's shoulder. "DADDY" he almost shouts and watches as his daddy's eyes flutter.

"Are you awake, Daddy?" He asks innocently.

"I am now, bub," his father responds, his eyes opening all the way. Parker watches as his dad wakes up and immediately grins at the woman in his arms. He places a gentle kiss in her hair and raises his head to smile at his son.

_Eww. Cooties._

"Daddy," he whispers again. "Can we have pancakes now?"

His daddy nods and brings a finger to his lips. Parker mimics the action with a smile and a nod. He watches as his father carefully lays Dr. Bones down on the couch and puts a blanket over her.

"Come on, bub." His daddy takes his hand and leads him away from the sleeping doctor.

"Why did you sleep on the couch, Daddy?" Parker asks as they enter the kitchen,

"Well, we didn't mean to do it, Parker. We were talking and we fell asleep," he replies softly while pulling out the pancake mix. "Now, would you like plain, boring ol' pancakes?" his daddy asks, pretending to yawn. "Or would you like chocolate chip pancakes?!"

Parker begins to jump up and down. "Chocolate chip! Chocolate chip!"

His dad chuckles and nods his head in agreement. "I thought you might say that," he says, picking him up and placing him on the counter.

"Don't forget to make some for Dr. Bones, Daddy."

"I won't, son."

Parker bites his lip in concentration as his daddy stirs together the pancake mix. "Is she your girlfriend now?"

He watches his father's face try to hide a smirk but fail. "I think she might be, buddy," he replies, giving him a sideways glance.

He places his little hand on his daddy's shoulder. "That's good. You laugh a lot with Dr. Bones."

"That's because Dr. Bones is funny." He pours some mix into the frying pan.

"She never played Candy Land before," he tells his dad, swiping a chocolate chip from the bag on the counter.

"No?" He quickly shakes his head. "Did you teach her?"

Parker nods his head. "She wanted to know where Candy Land was."

"What did you tell her?" His father asks, flipping a pancake in the air, and catching it in the frying pan.

_Daddy's the coolest. I wanna do that._

He immediately claps. "Cool! Do it again!" His dad repeats the action with another pancake, and he giggles.

"So, where is Candy Land, my smart little boy?"

He smiles widely. "I told her it was near Heaven."

His father turns to look at him.

_Daddy looks scared._

"What did she say to that?"

Parker shrugs one shoulder. "She said that it sounded right."

His daddy grins at him placing pancakes on a plate and turns back to the frying pan to make more.

"Do you think she missed her mommy and daddy?"

"Well, Parker, I think she'll always miss her mommy and daddy. And that's okay," his daddy tells him while flipping. "But I think you did a really good job of making her happy."

He and his father smile at each other. "You did too, Daddy."

"Thanks bud." He responds, putting more pancakes on a plate and turning to look at him. "Now, your pancakes will be ready in a second, so why don't you go wash your hands?"

"Okay, Daddy." Parker quickly places his arms around his father's neck to be put on the floor. His daddy leans in and gives him a quick kiss before placing him on the ground. "I'll be right back!"

Parker runs off to the bathroom, washing his hands in record time.

_Dr. Bones needs to wake up if she wants pancakes. Daddy'll eat them all._

"Dr. Bones?" Parker says in soft voice as he approaches the couch. "Dr. Bones, Daddy's making pancakes."

He watches as his daddy's partner and might-be girlfriend opens her eyes, and immediately looks shocked to see him. "Parker?"

He gives her his daddy's patented charm smile. "Come on, Dr. Bones. Daddy's making pancakes and if we don't hurry, he'll eat them all without us." He reaches down to grab her hand.

She smiles at him weakly and pulls herself off the couch, following him.

"They're chocolate chip," he tells her. "They're my favorite!" He drags her to the dining room. "Sit down. I'll go tell Daddy we're ready!" She nods at him mutely and he runs off to the kitchen.

"Daddy, I woke up Dr. Bones."

"You did?" His daddy asks, looking at him while pulling the syrup out of the pantry.

_Daddy looks scared again._

"Uh huh."

"Where is she now, Parker?"

"She's in the dining room, Daddy," he replies with a confused expression.

_Where else would she be?_

"Oh. Good. Well, why don't you take the syrup to the table and I'll be in with everything else in two seconds, okay?" His daddy says, stooping down to hand him the syrup.

He nods enthusiastically and returns to the dining room.

"Daddy's coming with the pancakes," he tells her as he hops on his chair. She nods and then returns her gaze to her lap. "Dr. Bones, are you sad?"

She looks up at him. "No, Parker. I'm not sad."

"You look sad." She shakes her head.

"Dr. Bones isn't sad, son. She's worried that if she keeps eating with us, she's gonna get fat," his daddy says entering the room with a platter. Parker giggles, noticing his daddy and Dr. Bones lock eyes. "No, we agreed. No panicking."

Parker watches Dr. Bones slowly start to smile and nod her head. His daddy gives her a wide smile and it's infectious. He slowly starts to smile too.

_Dr. Bones makes Daddy smile._

"What's panicking?" Parker asks as his daddy places a few pancakes on a plate.

"It's like worrying, Parker. You know what worry means, right?" Dr. Bones tells him and he nods.

"Why are you worrying, Dr. Bones?" Parker grins as his daddy hands him a short stack.

"She was worried that we might not want her here," his daddy answers, giving Dr. Bones a pointed stare.

"That's silly Dr. Bones. You're fun to play with! And now you're Daddy's girlfriend so you have to be here," he tells her, tearing apart a pancake with his hands.

_Why are her cheeks turning red?_

"And daddy's chocolate chip pancakes are the best."

He watches as his dad smiles at her, handing her a plate of pancakes as well. "And you said you were gonna teach me spinach," Parker adds.

"Spanish," she whispers across the table.

"Spanish," he corrects himself, shoving a piece of pancake in his mouth.

"Oh really?" His daddy asks, giving her a look.

"He wants to learn, Booth."

"Yeah, Daddy. Dr. Bones says it's good I wanna learn. She says I can be a squint!"

"BONES!"

* * *

**The end sort of had a "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do" feel to it, didn't it? Ah, the good times. I know, pancakes take a whole lot longer to make, but I took some artistic license with that. Anyway, that would be the natural conclusion of the story. But I hate to be conventional, so I'll attempt to churn out an epilogue for my loyal readers because you guys are the best. Hope it doesn't ruin everything! You guys let me know what you think.**


	11. Epilogue: Happy New Year

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this. I actually wrote another epilogue and was all ready to post it and decided I didn't like it. So, I'm gonna redo some of it and post it as a separate one shot/sequel sort of thing. I like this one better as an epilogue, anyway, though more liberties were taken. Look out for that. The reviews from last chapter were absolutely phenomenal and I'm soooo thankful! **

**A/N 2: I definitely earned my T rating in this one, at the very end. It's more like T and a half. Just letting you know! Hope y'all enjoy!**

* * *

"Bones, you can't be serious," Booth says incredulously, placing two glasses of champagne on the coffee table before sitting down next to her on the couch. 

"Booth, you know I don't watch TV," she responds, pulling her knees underneath her.

"But it's the countdown. THE countdown. Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve has been on for fifty years!" He explains to her.

_She's not going to appreciate your hyperbole. Ugh...hyperbole? Bones. _

"I seriously doubt that." She gives him a skeptical look.

_How did I know?_

He rolls his eyes. "Fine. But it's been on for a really long time!" He throws his arm on the back of the couch in frustration.

"Don't be such a child," she teases. She scoots closer, shifting her body to rest against his, and places her head in the crook of his neck.

_I like affectionate-Bones. _

"I just can't believe you've never watched the ball drop, Bones." He kisses the crown of her head.

"Well, I never really had anyone to watch it with," she tells him in all honesty, turning her face to look up at him.

_Until now. Until me. I'm the man. _

His mouth forms a small smile as he leans down to press a chaste kiss to her lips. Catching her eyes, his heart flutters and a deep ache erupts in his groin.

_Relax, Booth. You don't jump in to bed right away in a strong, committed loving relationship. Well, YOU do. But most people don't. Especially Bones. You'll scare her off, so take it slow._

Her cheeks flush crimson as if she can read his thoughts and she quickly turns her attention back to the television screen. "Okay, so how long before the ball drops?" She asks.

_Baseball. Bea Arthur. The Grand Canyon. Dr. Goodman in a dress. There we go._

"Five minutes," he replies, regaining his composure.

"I thought Dick Clark had a stroke."

_What?_

"He did. How did you know that?" He asks slightly shocked.

She quickly sits up and rolls her eyes. "Occasionally, I do read the newspaper, Booth. And I may be too young for Bandstand, which I'm sure was _your_ favorite show, but I know who Dick Clark is." Her eyes flash and her nostrils flare.

_God, she's hot when she's annoyed. _

He stares at her for a moment, mouth open, ready to apologize when a slow smile comes to his face. "You read the book, didn't you?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," she tells him, throwing herself against the arm of the couch, keeping her knees beneath her and crossing her arms over her chest.

_Uh huh._

"I said 'Come over and watch 'Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve' with me, and you looked him up in your book!"

"I did not!" She puts out her bottom lip in a way that's completely sexy and seductive and he gives a low throaty chuckle to hide his aroused groan.

"Bones, I gave you the book so you would use it. You don't have to be ashamed." He slides down the couch and wraps his arm around her shoulders.

She looks at him with a petulant smile. "I really did recognize the name. I just couldn't remember why he sounded so familiar."

_That's my girl._

He gives her a wide grin. "That's because he's Dick Clark! The World's Oldest Teenager!"

She stares at him with a befuddled expression. "Well, that's simply not possible."

He laughs loudly, earning him a penetrating glare from his companion. "It's just a nickname."

"But it doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to."

_Lecture time. Distract her, Seeley. _

"Teenager defines a person going through the teen years of life. The oldest teenager in the world is nineteen! It just doesn't make –". He cuts her off, his mouth colliding with her own. Immediately, her hands find their way to the back of his neck, and their lips mold together effortlessly as if they'd kissed a thousand times before.

She shifts positions next to him, and sits on her knees. His hands fall to her hips, desperately trying to pull her closer. His heart thumps wildly as she runs her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, stopping to rest briefly on his abs before returning to his cheeks to press his face more securely against her own. He slides one hand up the length of her body and gently brushes the side of her breast. She gasps into his mouth and arches toward him, startling him out of his revelry.

_You said you'd take it slow. This is NOT slow. This is the opposite of SLOW. _

"We should stop," he says, pulling away from her face, brushing the hair off her cheeks. "We shouldn't –". He pauses. "I— and you're –". He stumbles over his words, hoping she'll understand what he's trying to say. "It's only been a week."

She gives him a somewhat chagrined smile and nods, placing her hands on his shoulders, and pushing herself back against the arm of the couch.

_Oh, thank God. _

He quickly turns his attention back to the TV screen. "Besides the ball is about to drop," he tells her, as she pivots in her seat to face forward.

"So, aren't we just going to be doing that again?" She gives him a slow, sexy smile, and his heart melts, and his penis hardens, and he isn't quite sure what to do.

_Knock it off._

He clears his throat and squirms in his seat in an attempt to hide his almost obvious arousal. "Well, yes," he responds, and she nods, a wide grin spreading across her face. It's completely infectious and he finds himself grinning like a fool at the woman he loves as the people on the TV begin to count down from sixty.

He leans forward to grab the glasses of champagne and hands one to her, before resting back against the couch, his arm finding its way around her shoulders once more. As they watch the clock tick down, they're both silent, thinking about the year that's gone and the year to come.

As the people in Time Square scream "zero" and Auld Lang Syne begins to play, he lifts his hand to her chin, and gently turns her face toward his. She smiles, leaning into him, brushing her lips against his.

"Happy New Year, Booth," she whispers against his mouth, before sucking his upper lip in between her own. Before he has the chance to respond, she pulls back and smiles, and a jolt of electricity shoots through his entire body.

"Happy New Year, Bones." He affectionately tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek in the process. They clink their glasses together and each take a sip.

She gives a quick sideways glance to the TV, breaking contact for only a moment before turning back to him with a wide smile.

"12:01." She takes the glass out of his hand and places both on the coffee table.

_Okay, well, maybe she doesn't understand the concept._

He quirks his eyebrows up. "The time doesn't matter anymore, Bones. It's just the time leading up to midnight that counts," he tells her in a soft, unoffending tone.

She rolls her eyes at him and pushes herself off the couch. "Yes, thank you, I have three PhDs. I know what New Year's is." She grabs his hand and attempts to pull him up.

"Where are we going?" He asks, interlacing their fingers and standing from the couch.

"It's 12:01."

"So, you said."

"We've been dating for eight days, which, in case you didn't know, is one day longer than a week. I counted Christmas because I didn't want to wait. Eight days is perfectly long enough." She gives him an exuberant smile and tugs his hand. "Come on."

_Oh shit._

"Bones, are you sure about this? I mean, we can wait. I can wait. Forever, if you want." He pulls his hand out of hers and takes a step back.

She gives a deep sigh. "Okay, I was trying to go with my 'gut' like you, but apparently, you want to do this my way." She returns to the couch and takes a seat. "Let's rationalize." She tilts her head, gesturing for him to join her.

He cautiously takes his place next to her, their legs brushing together. As she turns to face him, he notices the expression she wears, the look she usually gets when she's trying to read bones, and he can't help but smirk.

"There are several reasons people in a relationship do not have sex, so let's go through and dissect them. If we can check them all off, then we're ready, okay?" she explains. He nods his head somewhat hesitantly.

"One: Love. Couples in a relationship like to wait until they love each other to have sex because they believe it is an action that expresses said sentiment. Well, I think we've pretty much established that we do in fact love each other. I love you and you love me, right?" She waits for his acknowledgement and all he can do is nod, completely shocked she didn't add that sex isn't about love.

_No science. _

"Okay, so that's settled. Two: they feel like they don't know each other well enough, that it's all too soon. Now, personally, I feel like we know each other pretty well. We've been partners for two years now, and you said it yourself, we've been doing this," she gestures between them, "for at least that long. You know me better than anyone. So, I feel pretty comfortable with this. Are you uncomfortable in any way?"

_After what I've told you? After what we've shared?_

"No," he chokes out.

She smiles and continues. "Okay. Three: Because they're unsure of their sexual status. Now, I know for certain that I'm not inflicted with any STDs or anything of that nature. So, if you're concerned about that, don't be."

"No, Bones. I wasn't thinking that."

"Well, what about you? Should I be worried?" Her face pales.

"No, definitely not Bones."

She narrows her eyes at him briefly and then nods slowly. "Four: People decide to wait to have sex because they want to build sexual chemistry. There is no…" She pauses for a moment, cocking her head to one side, looking him straight in the eye. "Spark."

Booth forces oxygen down his throat as he stares at her. "Clearly, we have no problem with that," he says.

"Never have." He smiles widely and she grins, which sends his entire body into overload.

"Five: One of the pair does not want to have sex. Since I'm initiating this whole thing, I think it's pretty clear what I want. What do you want?"

_She thinks you don't want her. Nicely done. Make this better._

He releases a troubled sigh and turns his entire body to face her. Taking her hands in his, he sucks in a deep breath before responding. "I want you. I can't tell you how much, Bones. But I'm terrified that we're gonna go too fast and one day, you're gonna get scared and run. And I can't lose you, Bones. I won't. Not when I can stop it, not when I can say 'let's go slow' and keep you from getting scared and me from having to chase after you and both of our hearts from being broken." His mouth forms a sad smile. "We'll be sexually frustrated, but we'll be together and we'll be happy."

"You think by denying me sex, you're keeping me happy?" She lifts an eyebrow and smirks. "I know I'm not a relationship expert, but I'm fairly certain sex is instrumental in keeping those in a relationship happy."

"This isn't just sex to me, Bones," he tells her in all seriousness, his brown eyes searching her blue ones for understanding.

She looks down at their interlocked hands and takes in a deep breath. "I know."

"This means something to me."

_Please tell me it means something to you. It has to._

She nods her head, chewing her bottom lip. "It means something to me too," she says softly. She lifts her chin to look at him. "I will probably never think of it the way you do, but I know that it's not the same."

She places her hands on the side of his face in a completely un-Bones type of action. "I can't promise you that I won't get scared, whether we go slowly or we go fast. But I will make you a deal. If I start to get apprehensive about our relationship or where we're going or how I'm feeling, I will talk to you first, before I do anything else."

_Whoa. That's huge._

He hesitates for a moment, unsure if she's truly serious but he sees the resolute expression on her face and knows she means it. "Deal." He gives her a wide grin. "No 'anthropologically speaking', Bones. Not one extremely long word that I didn't understand."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm trying to do what you told me to do. I'm using my 'heart'," she tells him, using her fingers to air quote.

_This is why I love her._

"Okay, let's move down our list," she says, beginning to tick things off on her fingers. "Love? Check. Comfortable? Check. Clean? Check. Sexual chemistry?"

He interrupts her. "Double Check." He places an open mouth kiss on her neck.

"Booth, I'm doing a list here."

He chuckles at her annoyed tone and throws his hands up in surrender.

"Where was I?" She puts her finger to her chin and taps it a few times. "Oh yes." She stands up and moves toward the hallway. Turning around in the entryway, she pauses, planting her hands on her hips. His head swivels, his eyes following her out of the room.

"Do you want me?"

_Holy Mary Mother of God, yes._

A fire ignites in his belly as he jumps up and over the back of the couch and saunters towards her. He gives her his charm smile as he leans forward to capture her lips in his own, his fingers plowing through her auburn locks. She's caught slightly off guard and clutches his shirt to regain her balance, clenching the material in her fists.

Their lips press together, hot and passionate, and she emits a small moan that opens her mouth to his tongue. He slides it in, teasing and coaxing her. She responds with equal fervor, fingers pressing against the back of his neck, tongue dueling with his own, battling for dominance though neither really wants it.

Suddenly, he can't stop the urge to crush his body against hers. He finds her hips with his hands and pulls her flush against him, grinding his pelvis into her body. They both groan with satisfaction, their lips coming apart with an audible smack.

She lets out a contented sigh. "Definitely check."

* * *

His thrusts are deep, and his kisses are loving and erotic. She's verbally responsive to every move he makes, moaning with each stroke. She rakes her nails down his back and he pumps faster, her first name tumbling from his lips with a string of promises, and he never wants it to end. She begins to tremble, her legs wrapping around his waist, and he plunges so deep inside of her, his name, his first name is a shrill cry of ecstasy from her lips as she shakes and shudders. He let's go and groans a long deep primitive sound that reminds him more of an animal than a human being, and then collapses. 

He lifts his head from her shoulder and kisses her, a deep, sensual kiss, and can't help but smile when she responds enthusiastically. He flops over on his back and she immediately snuggles into his chest.

_Best ever._

He wraps his arms around her, pulling half her body over the top of his. "I love you, Booth," she whispers before placing a kiss to his chest.

His face splits into a huge grin, and he knows he'll never get tired of hearing her say that. "I love you too," he replies softly, running his hand through her hair.

"I still don't understand," she says to him after a moment.

"You don't understand what?"

"Oldest Teenager in the World just doesn't make sense," she says to him exasperatedly.

He let's a loud, hard laugh and she stares at him. He squeezes her tightly in his arms and closes his eyes again, his chuckles barely subsiding.

She lets out a frustrated sigh, poking his stomach. "Don't laugh at me," she tells him, which only makes him laugh more. "Really, Booth," she says, removing her body from his grasp and scooting to the other side of the bed. "You're such a child." She turns on her side, her back facing him.

Smirking, he quickly moves to the center of the bed and wraps an arm around her waist. He pulls her hard against him, her back pressed to his front, and begins kissing her neck. She turns her head to face his and gives him a tender kiss. They smile at each other before she rests her head back on the pillow, and he buries his face in her hair.

As he begins to think about the last few days, he smiles.

_It's not going to be easy, _he thinks as he slowly drifts off, but he always knew that. _Being in love is not for kids._

He grins in his sleep.

_Definitely not._

* * *

**And that's where it ends. I know, I'm with you completely. The real Booth probably wouldn't just fall into bed a week after breaking up with Cam; however, in my defense, it was never anything special to him and it's my story and I needed him and Bones to go to bed together so I could bookend the story. Did you notice the bookends? Sort of ended the way it began! I was really excited about that, so even if you didn't notice, lie to me. Heh. **

**I really appreciate all of your support, advice and reviews! You guys have been great! Thanks to all those who put this story on alert, who have made it one of their favorites, and who have loyally read and reviewed. If you just read, thank you too! **


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